HILLARY CLINTON -- NOT President Obama -- announces decision to file lawsuit against Arizona's new illegal immigration law
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2010/06/17/clinton_obama_administration_to_sue_arizona_over_immigration_law.html
Monday, June 21, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Scenes (Video) from the SET of "RED DAWN" movie remake about China -- from the filming of the movie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAVDgUnmX1E
PONTIAC, Michigan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6mM57La8NA&feature=related
ROYAL OAK Shoot -- Stunt Set Up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvrjSQSZnQo&feature=related
Preparing for CAR CHASSE in Royal Oak, Michigan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqkKfvPv5L4&feature=related
CHINESE TANKS & SOLDIERS ATTACKING
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oy7OwCHeO78&feature=related
PONTIAC, Michigan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6mM57La8NA&feature=related
ROYAL OAK Shoot -- Stunt Set Up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvrjSQSZnQo&feature=related
Preparing for CAR CHASSE in Royal Oak, Michigan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqkKfvPv5L4&feature=related
CHINESE TANKS & SOLDIERS ATTACKING
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oy7OwCHeO78&feature=related
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Movie Trailer / Promotional Video for China "RED DAWN" movie
TRAILER #1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeYCdp1ik_0&feature=related
TRAILER #2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co0CopP1Vec&feature=related
TRAILER #3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgW_0hTn5gE&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeYCdp1ik_0&feature=related
TRAILER #2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co0CopP1Vec&feature=related
TRAILER #3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgW_0hTn5gE&feature=related
Obama cedes part of US to Mexico (Fox News)
This just in from Col. Norm Turner USAF (ret), and also retired Judge.
The Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge is three counties deep, and 80 miles into America—including portions that extend north of Tucson. Obama has, effectively, ceded the entire National Park to illegal aliens.
And, to help ensure the park’s transfer to illegal aliens, and according to Sheriff Paul Babeu, Obama suspended the fence construction on the park’s border with Mexico.
The park is a protected freeway for illegal aliens, whose numbers include many Mexican para-military units. And, Obama refuses the use of America’s military to help prevent the invasion, despite repeated requests by Arizonans, led by Governor Jan Brewer and Sen. McCain.
Instead of addressing the invasion, Obama has placed warning signs around the park to advise Americans not to enter this now-protected invasion trail.
As Sheriff Paul Babeu of Pinal County explains, “We, as the most powerful nation on earth, can win wars and liberate countries throughout our history, yet we cannot even secure our own border and protect our own family. And, this is why crime in Arizona is and has been among the highest in the nation. And We Need Help!”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPrl4P9AcrQ&feature=player_embedded
The Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge is three counties deep, and 80 miles into America—including portions that extend north of Tucson. Obama has, effectively, ceded the entire National Park to illegal aliens.
And, to help ensure the park’s transfer to illegal aliens, and according to Sheriff Paul Babeu, Obama suspended the fence construction on the park’s border with Mexico.
The park is a protected freeway for illegal aliens, whose numbers include many Mexican para-military units. And, Obama refuses the use of America’s military to help prevent the invasion, despite repeated requests by Arizonans, led by Governor Jan Brewer and Sen. McCain.
Instead of addressing the invasion, Obama has placed warning signs around the park to advise Americans not to enter this now-protected invasion trail.
As Sheriff Paul Babeu of Pinal County explains, “We, as the most powerful nation on earth, can win wars and liberate countries throughout our history, yet we cannot even secure our own border and protect our own family. And, this is why crime in Arizona is and has been among the highest in the nation. And We Need Help!”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPrl4P9AcrQ&feature=player_embedded
Friday, June 18, 2010
NY Times: Chinese Government Paying US Public Schools to Teach CHINESE LANGUAGE in American schools
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/21/education/21chinese.html
WASHINGTON — Thousands of public schools stopped teaching foreign languages in the last decade, according to a government-financed survey — dismal news for a nation that needs more linguists to conduct its global business and diplomacy.
But another contrary trend has educators and policy makers abuzz: a rush by schools in all parts of America to offer instruction in Chinese.
Some schools are paying for Chinese classes on their own, but hundreds are getting some help. The Chinese government is sending teachers from China to schools all over the world — and paying part of their salaries.
At a time of tight budgets, many American schools are finding that offer too good to refuse.
In Massillon, Ohio, south of Cleveland, Jackson High School started its Chinese program in the fall of 2007 with 20 students and now has 80, said Parthena Draggett, who directs Jackson’s world languages department.
“We were able to get a free Chinese teacher,” she said. “I’d like to start a Spanish program for elementary children, but we can’t get a free Spanish teacher.”
(Jackson’s Chinese teacher is not free; the Chinese government pays part of his compensation, with the district paying the rest.)
No one keeps an exact count, but rough calculations based on the government’s survey suggest that perhaps 1,600 American public and private schools are teaching Chinese, up from 300 or so a decade ago. And the numbers are growing exponentially.
WASHINGTON — Thousands of public schools stopped teaching foreign languages in the last decade, according to a government-financed survey — dismal news for a nation that needs more linguists to conduct its global business and diplomacy.
But another contrary trend has educators and policy makers abuzz: a rush by schools in all parts of America to offer instruction in Chinese.
Some schools are paying for Chinese classes on their own, but hundreds are getting some help. The Chinese government is sending teachers from China to schools all over the world — and paying part of their salaries.
At a time of tight budgets, many American schools are finding that offer too good to refuse.
In Massillon, Ohio, south of Cleveland, Jackson High School started its Chinese program in the fall of 2007 with 20 students and now has 80, said Parthena Draggett, who directs Jackson’s world languages department.
“We were able to get a free Chinese teacher,” she said. “I’d like to start a Spanish program for elementary children, but we can’t get a free Spanish teacher.”
(Jackson’s Chinese teacher is not free; the Chinese government pays part of his compensation, with the district paying the rest.)
No one keeps an exact count, but rough calculations based on the government’s survey suggest that perhaps 1,600 American public and private schools are teaching Chinese, up from 300 or so a decade ago. And the numbers are growing exponentially.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
UK's Guardian: Remake of "Red Dawn" with CHINA invading the United States
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/30/red-dawn-remake-china
Red Dawn is being remade, but China ousts Russia as America's new enemy
A remake of the 1984 cold war teen action film says much about America's fear of its declining influence in the world
Paul Harris
The Observer, Sunday 30 May 2010
The film was a classic piece of 1980s teen cinema framed against the paranoid geopolitics of the cold war. Red Dawn starred Patrick Swayze and Charlie Sheen as all-American teens leading an armed resistance movement against Soviet troops who had invaded the US.
Feeding on Hollywood's recent appetite for recycling old films, Red Dawn is being remade with a handsome new cast. But there is one vital difference: this time the invading communist army that takes over America is Chinese.
The new-look enemy reflects the changes that have swept the world since the fall of the Berlin Wall. First, the Soviet Union no longer exists, thus hampering any plot driven by its invasion of America. Second, a rich vein of paranoia about the rise of Chinese economic might now runs through American politics.
That would explain the viral spread of leaked stills from the movie showing mocked-up Chinese propaganda posters draped over a "Chinese/American Friendship Centre". The posters play on American fears about their nation's declining economic influence.
"Helping You Back On Your Feet" states one, showing a Chinese hand reaching down to pull up an American one. "Rebuilding Your Reputation" states another, with a Chinese communist star imposed over a map of America that has a large crack down the middle.
The film, due to be released later this year, is being shot on a budget of $75m and, like the original, features a roster of emerging stars rather than established A-list names. They include Connor Cruise, the son of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman; Chris Hemsworth, who was in the last Star Trek movie; and Isabel Lucas, who starred in Transformers.
However, the appeal of the film lies not in its acting talent but, like the first one, in its ability to reflect the worries of a troubled nation. The original Red Dawn, written by John Milius, who wrote the original script for Apocalypse Now, was a huge hit on its release in 1984. Its hyper-patriotism and depiction of ordinary American teenagers fighting off the "red menace" chimed with the mood of Ronald Reagan's America. It might not have been subtle, but it was a box-office hit that went on to be named a favourite conservative movie of all time. The hunt for Saddam Hussein after the invasion of Iraq in 2003 was named Operation Red Dawn in tribute to the movie.
The new Red Dawn is expected to follow in those cultural footsteps, albeit with a different enemy and reflecting not a nuclear-armed global stand-off, but rather America's fears over economic decline. The plot appears fairly close to the original. The invading Chinese troops use the pretext of America's economic problems to invade. Patriotic young people fight back against China's People's Liberation Army and the collaborators who work with them.
The Awl, a New York-based satirical website, last week obtained a leaked early copy of the script, which contained numerous scenes of high patriotism and a soundtrack that featured country star Toby Keith singing the song Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue. That theme has been taken up by the Asian media too. "US paranoia seen in new Red Dawn," said a headline on the Asia Times's website. Writer Ben Shobert went on to note: "The movie and its villains say much about current insecurities."
But cultural paranoia is only effective if based on some level of reality, and there is little doubt that America now regards the rise of China as the next major threat to its global dominance. Over the past decade China has pursued an active foreign policy in Africa and Latin America. Its rapidly growing economy is quickly catching up with the United States and it has recovered much quicker from the recent recession, which the US is still feeling. Such things have led to a strain of anti-Chinese sentiment in some parts of American politics and the media.
Those themes are played on in the new film, especially when depicting the surprise Chinese military attack that takes over the country. Yet perhaps the strongest symbol of America's decline and China's rise in the Red Dawn remake does not come from the movie's sets or script or even its plot. It comes from the fact that much of the movie was shot in and around the battered industrial city of Detroit. The city's emptying streets and many abandoned factories were seen as the perfect real-life backdrop for the city's war scenes.
Red Dawn is being remade, but China ousts Russia as America's new enemy
A remake of the 1984 cold war teen action film says much about America's fear of its declining influence in the world
Paul Harris
The Observer, Sunday 30 May 2010
The film was a classic piece of 1980s teen cinema framed against the paranoid geopolitics of the cold war. Red Dawn starred Patrick Swayze and Charlie Sheen as all-American teens leading an armed resistance movement against Soviet troops who had invaded the US.
Feeding on Hollywood's recent appetite for recycling old films, Red Dawn is being remade with a handsome new cast. But there is one vital difference: this time the invading communist army that takes over America is Chinese.
The new-look enemy reflects the changes that have swept the world since the fall of the Berlin Wall. First, the Soviet Union no longer exists, thus hampering any plot driven by its invasion of America. Second, a rich vein of paranoia about the rise of Chinese economic might now runs through American politics.
That would explain the viral spread of leaked stills from the movie showing mocked-up Chinese propaganda posters draped over a "Chinese/American Friendship Centre". The posters play on American fears about their nation's declining economic influence.
"Helping You Back On Your Feet" states one, showing a Chinese hand reaching down to pull up an American one. "Rebuilding Your Reputation" states another, with a Chinese communist star imposed over a map of America that has a large crack down the middle.
The film, due to be released later this year, is being shot on a budget of $75m and, like the original, features a roster of emerging stars rather than established A-list names. They include Connor Cruise, the son of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman; Chris Hemsworth, who was in the last Star Trek movie; and Isabel Lucas, who starred in Transformers.
However, the appeal of the film lies not in its acting talent but, like the first one, in its ability to reflect the worries of a troubled nation. The original Red Dawn, written by John Milius, who wrote the original script for Apocalypse Now, was a huge hit on its release in 1984. Its hyper-patriotism and depiction of ordinary American teenagers fighting off the "red menace" chimed with the mood of Ronald Reagan's America. It might not have been subtle, but it was a box-office hit that went on to be named a favourite conservative movie of all time. The hunt for Saddam Hussein after the invasion of Iraq in 2003 was named Operation Red Dawn in tribute to the movie.
The new Red Dawn is expected to follow in those cultural footsteps, albeit with a different enemy and reflecting not a nuclear-armed global stand-off, but rather America's fears over economic decline. The plot appears fairly close to the original. The invading Chinese troops use the pretext of America's economic problems to invade. Patriotic young people fight back against China's People's Liberation Army and the collaborators who work with them.
The Awl, a New York-based satirical website, last week obtained a leaked early copy of the script, which contained numerous scenes of high patriotism and a soundtrack that featured country star Toby Keith singing the song Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue. That theme has been taken up by the Asian media too. "US paranoia seen in new Red Dawn," said a headline on the Asia Times's website. Writer Ben Shobert went on to note: "The movie and its villains say much about current insecurities."
But cultural paranoia is only effective if based on some level of reality, and there is little doubt that America now regards the rise of China as the next major threat to its global dominance. Over the past decade China has pursued an active foreign policy in Africa and Latin America. Its rapidly growing economy is quickly catching up with the United States and it has recovered much quicker from the recent recession, which the US is still feeling. Such things have led to a strain of anti-Chinese sentiment in some parts of American politics and the media.
Those themes are played on in the new film, especially when depicting the surprise Chinese military attack that takes over the country. Yet perhaps the strongest symbol of America's decline and China's rise in the Red Dawn remake does not come from the movie's sets or script or even its plot. It comes from the fact that much of the movie was shot in and around the battered industrial city of Detroit. The city's emptying streets and many abandoned factories were seen as the perfect real-life backdrop for the city's war scenes.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
China's Government-Run Newspaper Furious at "RED DAWN" remake portraying Chinese Invasion of the US
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i9a9ec43069ab4f97784bd1acb15d858d
BEIJING -- An upcoming MGM remake of the 1984 film "Red Dawn" -- this time, with the Chinese and the Russians as the enemies -- has drawn sharp criticism from one of the leading Chinese state-run newspapers two days in a row.
"U.S. reshoots Cold War movie to demonize China" and "American movie plants hostile seeds against China," read the Monday and Tuesday editorials in Beijing-based The Global Times, whose daily circulation, in Chinese and English editions, is about 1.5 million.
Coming on the heels of secretary of state Hilary Clinton's recent China visit, the commentaries said the $42 million film directed by Dan Bradley and starring Connor Cruise (son of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman), "is deeply rooted in Americans' fear of China's rise."
"Despite the world's focus on U.S.-China relations in the Strategic and Economic Dialogue and their increasing economic connections, China can still feel U.S. distrust and fear, especially among its people. Americans' suspicions about China are the best ground for the Hawks to disseminate fear and doubt, which is the biggest concern with the movie 'Red Dawn,'" one commentary said
China's media regulators long have bristled at politics in the movies and recently censored all mentions of Russia and Russians as villains from the Chinese theatrical version of "Iron Man 2."
On the flip side, director Lu Chuan's "City of Life and Death" was lauded last year by some for giving a human face to one of the Japanese soldiers depicted in his feature about the Nanjing Massacre in 1937, a hot-button anti-Japanese issue among common Chinese.
China's government, which tries to shield the population of 1.3 billion from too much foreign influence, limits to 20 the number of imported films allowed to take home a share of the boxoffice -- a cap the Motion Picture Assn. has fought for 10 years to change in hopes Hollywood studios might tap pent-up demand for entertainment.
With help from China's nascent middle class swells, the nation recently was the second-largest gross boxoffice market after the U.S. for Hollywood hits "Avatar," "2012," and "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen." Overall boxoffice gross here jumped 43% last year to $909 million and is tipped to climb more sharply still this year
BEIJING -- An upcoming MGM remake of the 1984 film "Red Dawn" -- this time, with the Chinese and the Russians as the enemies -- has drawn sharp criticism from one of the leading Chinese state-run newspapers two days in a row.
"U.S. reshoots Cold War movie to demonize China" and "American movie plants hostile seeds against China," read the Monday and Tuesday editorials in Beijing-based The Global Times, whose daily circulation, in Chinese and English editions, is about 1.5 million.
Coming on the heels of secretary of state Hilary Clinton's recent China visit, the commentaries said the $42 million film directed by Dan Bradley and starring Connor Cruise (son of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman), "is deeply rooted in Americans' fear of China's rise."
"Despite the world's focus on U.S.-China relations in the Strategic and Economic Dialogue and their increasing economic connections, China can still feel U.S. distrust and fear, especially among its people. Americans' suspicions about China are the best ground for the Hawks to disseminate fear and doubt, which is the biggest concern with the movie 'Red Dawn,'" one commentary said
China's media regulators long have bristled at politics in the movies and recently censored all mentions of Russia and Russians as villains from the Chinese theatrical version of "Iron Man 2."
On the flip side, director Lu Chuan's "City of Life and Death" was lauded last year by some for giving a human face to one of the Japanese soldiers depicted in his feature about the Nanjing Massacre in 1937, a hot-button anti-Japanese issue among common Chinese.
China's government, which tries to shield the population of 1.3 billion from too much foreign influence, limits to 20 the number of imported films allowed to take home a share of the boxoffice -- a cap the Motion Picture Assn. has fought for 10 years to change in hopes Hollywood studios might tap pent-up demand for entertainment.
With help from China's nascent middle class swells, the nation recently was the second-largest gross boxoffice market after the U.S. for Hollywood hits "Avatar," "2012," and "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen." Overall boxoffice gross here jumped 43% last year to $909 million and is tipped to climb more sharply still this year
MGM's Financial Crisis will DELAY release of "RED DAWN" (China) Remake
http://www.collider.com/2010/06/16/red-dawn-cabin-woods-delayed-joss-whedon-mgm/
But many believe that Hollywood doesn't want a conservative movie to influence the November elections.... The November release date (with advertising ahead of the release date) would have been right in the middle of the election season.
But many believe that Hollywood doesn't want a conservative movie to influence the November elections.... The November release date (with advertising ahead of the release date) would have been right in the middle of the election season.
OFFICIAL Cast & Writers of new "RED DAWN" Remake re: possible Chinese Invasion of the USA
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1234719/fullcredits#cast
Is a Hollywood liberal conspiracy keeping 'Red Dawn' away from theaters?
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/the_big_picture/2010/06/is-a-hollywood-liberal-conspiracy-keeping-red-dawn-away-from-theaters-.html
Is a Hollywood liberal conspiracy keeping 'Red Dawn' away from theaters?
I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, but I have grim news: "Red Dawn" isn't coming Nov. 24, as the conservative blogs have all promised. In fact, no one knows when the movie will ever be released. Although it sounds like yet another liberal Hollywood conspiracy, the movie (which was filmed in Detroit last year) is suffering from a far bigger problem: It was made by MGM, and MGM has run out of money. The troubled studio managed to make several movies recently, one that was already released ("Hot Tub Time Machine"), one that is being released next year by Sony ("The Zookeeper") and one, "Red Dawn," that is in the can but may stay there for quite a while, at least until someone buys MGM or provides the kind of big investment needed to market and distribute new films.
According to an MGM insider, the bloggers have a few other things wrong beside that release date. The film didn't cost $75 million. It was made for $42 million, thanks to a load of tax breaks from being filmed in Michigan. It doesn't have any music by Toby Keith, because no one has recorded any music for its soundtrack yet. (Keith's name was simply used as a reference in the script.) And Tom Cruise's son, Connor, isn't the star, simply one of an ensemble of young actors paying the roles handled by Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen and C. Thomas Howell in the original.
But yes, the Commies do get their butts kicked in the new film. So I guess conservatives do have something to look forward to. But if they want to do something constructive to ensure that "Red Dawn" makes it to theaters, I'd advise calling Rupert Murdoch and ask him if he'd spend some of the money he normally puts into the salaries for all those blond chicks on Fox News and give "Red Dawn" a nice slot on the Fox release schedule. After all the money he's made off of "Avatar" and its lefty propaganda about global warming, it's the least Mr. Murdoch could do to level the playing field.
Right now, if we could measure things on our trusty conservative ecstasy meter (which has just emerged from the repair shop after bursting into flames after Elton John performed at Rush Limbaugh's wedding), I'd say that the winner would be the news that Hollywood is about to release a remake of "Red Dawn," the 1984 John Milius Cold War fantasy-thriller about a courageous scrum of young patriots who fend off a Soviet invasion of America. The original film has long been a cult favorite among conservatives, who rarely find any movies to call their own coming off the liberal Hollywood assembly line.
So all across the conservative blogosphere, the word is out that -- miraculously -- Hollywood has made a $75-million movie about kicking Commie ass, with the Commies this time being of the Chinese variety.
Is a Hollywood liberal conspiracy keeping 'Red Dawn' away from theaters?
I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, but I have grim news: "Red Dawn" isn't coming Nov. 24, as the conservative blogs have all promised. In fact, no one knows when the movie will ever be released. Although it sounds like yet another liberal Hollywood conspiracy, the movie (which was filmed in Detroit last year) is suffering from a far bigger problem: It was made by MGM, and MGM has run out of money. The troubled studio managed to make several movies recently, one that was already released ("Hot Tub Time Machine"), one that is being released next year by Sony ("The Zookeeper") and one, "Red Dawn," that is in the can but may stay there for quite a while, at least until someone buys MGM or provides the kind of big investment needed to market and distribute new films.
According to an MGM insider, the bloggers have a few other things wrong beside that release date. The film didn't cost $75 million. It was made for $42 million, thanks to a load of tax breaks from being filmed in Michigan. It doesn't have any music by Toby Keith, because no one has recorded any music for its soundtrack yet. (Keith's name was simply used as a reference in the script.) And Tom Cruise's son, Connor, isn't the star, simply one of an ensemble of young actors paying the roles handled by Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen and C. Thomas Howell in the original.
But yes, the Commies do get their butts kicked in the new film. So I guess conservatives do have something to look forward to. But if they want to do something constructive to ensure that "Red Dawn" makes it to theaters, I'd advise calling Rupert Murdoch and ask him if he'd spend some of the money he normally puts into the salaries for all those blond chicks on Fox News and give "Red Dawn" a nice slot on the Fox release schedule. After all the money he's made off of "Avatar" and its lefty propaganda about global warming, it's the least Mr. Murdoch could do to level the playing field.
Right now, if we could measure things on our trusty conservative ecstasy meter (which has just emerged from the repair shop after bursting into flames after Elton John performed at Rush Limbaugh's wedding), I'd say that the winner would be the news that Hollywood is about to release a remake of "Red Dawn," the 1984 John Milius Cold War fantasy-thriller about a courageous scrum of young patriots who fend off a Soviet invasion of America. The original film has long been a cult favorite among conservatives, who rarely find any movies to call their own coming off the liberal Hollywood assembly line.
So all across the conservative blogosphere, the word is out that -- miraculously -- Hollywood has made a $75-million movie about kicking Commie ass, with the Commies this time being of the Chinese variety.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Vast New Wealth in Afghanistan could Spark Conflict between USA and China
While this is very good news fo rthe Afghan people, and creates hope for a replacement in Afghanistan of the opium and drug trade (currently the only real source of wealth) with an honest source of income.
Unfortunately, China's growing economy and huge population next door may be so starved for resources that China may want these mineral resources for themselves. This could provide a reason for military conflict between China and the United States.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/14/world/asia/14minerals.html?no_interstitial
U.S. Identifies Vast Riches of Minerals in Afghanistan
By JAMES RISEN
Published: June 13, 2010
WASHINGTON — The United States has discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, far beyond any previously known reserves and enough to fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war itself, according to senior American government officials.
The previously unknown deposits — including huge veins of iron, copper, cobalt, gold and critical industrial metals like lithium — are so big and include so many minerals that are essential to modern industry that Afghanistan could eventually be transformed into one of the most important mining centers in the world, the United States officials believe.
An internal Pentagon memo, for example, states that Afghanistan could become the “Saudi Arabia of lithium,” a key raw material in the manufacture of batteries for laptops and BlackBerrys.
The vast scale of Afghanistan’s mineral wealth was discovered by a small team of Pentagon officials and American geologists. The Afghan government and President Hamid Karzai were recently briefed, American officials said.
While it could take many years to develop a mining industry, the potential is so great that officials and executives in the industry believe it could attract heavy investment even before mines are profitable, providing the possibility of jobs that could distract from generations of war.
“There is stunning potential here,” Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of the United States Central Command, said in an interview on Saturday. “There are a lot of ifs, of course, but I think potentially it is hugely significant.”
The value of the newly discovered mineral deposits dwarfs the size of Afghanistan’s existing war-bedraggled economy, which is based largely on opium production and narcotics trafficking as well as aid from the United States and other industrialized countries. Afghanistan’s gross domestic product is only about $12 billion.
“This will become the backbone of the Afghan economy,” said Jalil Jumriany, an adviser to the Afghan minister of mines.
American and Afghan officials agreed to discuss the mineral discoveries at a difficult moment in the war in Afghanistan. The American-led offensive in Marja in southern Afghanistan has achieved only limited gains. Meanwhile, charges of corruption and favoritism continue to plague the Karzai government, and Mr. Karzai seems increasingly embittered toward the White House.
So the Obama administration is hungry for some positive news to come out of Afghanistan. Yet the American officials also recognize that the mineral discoveries will almost certainly have a double-edged impact.
Instead of bringing peace, the newfound mineral wealth could lead the Taliban to battle even more fiercely to regain control of the country.
The corruption that is already rampant in the Karzai government could also be amplified by the new wealth, particularly if a handful of well-connected oligarchs, some with personal ties to the president, gain control of the resources. Just last year, Afghanistan’s minister of mines was accused by American officials of accepting a $30 million bribe to award China the rights to develop its copper mine. The minister has since been replaced.
Endless fights could erupt between the central government in Kabul and provincial and tribal leaders in mineral-rich districts. Afghanistan has a national mining law, written with the help of advisers from the World Bank, but it has never faced a serious challenge.
“No one has tested that law; no one knows how it will stand up in a fight between the central government and the provinces,” observed Paul A. Brinkley, deputy undersecretary of defense for business and leader of the Pentagon team that discovered the deposits.
At the same time, American officials fear resource-hungry China will try to dominate the development of Afghanistan’s mineral wealth, which could upset the United States, given its heavy investment in the region. After winning the bid for its Aynak copper mine in Logar Province, China clearly wants more, American officials said.
Unfortunately, China's growing economy and huge population next door may be so starved for resources that China may want these mineral resources for themselves. This could provide a reason for military conflict between China and the United States.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/14/world/asia/14minerals.html?no_interstitial
U.S. Identifies Vast Riches of Minerals in Afghanistan
By JAMES RISEN
Published: June 13, 2010
WASHINGTON — The United States has discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, far beyond any previously known reserves and enough to fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war itself, according to senior American government officials.
The previously unknown deposits — including huge veins of iron, copper, cobalt, gold and critical industrial metals like lithium — are so big and include so many minerals that are essential to modern industry that Afghanistan could eventually be transformed into one of the most important mining centers in the world, the United States officials believe.
An internal Pentagon memo, for example, states that Afghanistan could become the “Saudi Arabia of lithium,” a key raw material in the manufacture of batteries for laptops and BlackBerrys.
The vast scale of Afghanistan’s mineral wealth was discovered by a small team of Pentagon officials and American geologists. The Afghan government and President Hamid Karzai were recently briefed, American officials said.
While it could take many years to develop a mining industry, the potential is so great that officials and executives in the industry believe it could attract heavy investment even before mines are profitable, providing the possibility of jobs that could distract from generations of war.
“There is stunning potential here,” Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of the United States Central Command, said in an interview on Saturday. “There are a lot of ifs, of course, but I think potentially it is hugely significant.”
The value of the newly discovered mineral deposits dwarfs the size of Afghanistan’s existing war-bedraggled economy, which is based largely on opium production and narcotics trafficking as well as aid from the United States and other industrialized countries. Afghanistan’s gross domestic product is only about $12 billion.
“This will become the backbone of the Afghan economy,” said Jalil Jumriany, an adviser to the Afghan minister of mines.
American and Afghan officials agreed to discuss the mineral discoveries at a difficult moment in the war in Afghanistan. The American-led offensive in Marja in southern Afghanistan has achieved only limited gains. Meanwhile, charges of corruption and favoritism continue to plague the Karzai government, and Mr. Karzai seems increasingly embittered toward the White House.
So the Obama administration is hungry for some positive news to come out of Afghanistan. Yet the American officials also recognize that the mineral discoveries will almost certainly have a double-edged impact.
Instead of bringing peace, the newfound mineral wealth could lead the Taliban to battle even more fiercely to regain control of the country.
The corruption that is already rampant in the Karzai government could also be amplified by the new wealth, particularly if a handful of well-connected oligarchs, some with personal ties to the president, gain control of the resources. Just last year, Afghanistan’s minister of mines was accused by American officials of accepting a $30 million bribe to award China the rights to develop its copper mine. The minister has since been replaced.
Endless fights could erupt between the central government in Kabul and provincial and tribal leaders in mineral-rich districts. Afghanistan has a national mining law, written with the help of advisers from the World Bank, but it has never faced a serious challenge.
“No one has tested that law; no one knows how it will stand up in a fight between the central government and the provinces,” observed Paul A. Brinkley, deputy undersecretary of defense for business and leader of the Pentagon team that discovered the deposits.
At the same time, American officials fear resource-hungry China will try to dominate the development of Afghanistan’s mineral wealth, which could upset the United States, given its heavy investment in the region. After winning the bid for its Aynak copper mine in Logar Province, China clearly wants more, American officials said.
New "RED DAWN" movie will warn of CHINA threat
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=164269
According to the movie's own MGM website, the plot develops when "an American city awakens to the surreal sight of foreign paratroopers dropping from the sky – shockingly, the U.S. has been invaded and their hometown is the initial target. Quickly and without warning, the citizens find themselves prisoners and their town under enemy occupation. Determined to fight back, a group of young patriots seek refuge in the surrounding woods, training and reorganizing themselves into a guerrilla group of fighters."
According to the Daily Finance fixture on AOL, the plot is:
Set against the backdrop of contemporary politics, the film begins with an American withdrawal from Iraq. The president decides to redeploy troops to Taiwan, where escalating Chinese militarism is threatening America's ally. At the same time, he also welcomes the former Soviet republic of Georgia into NATO, unleashing Russian worries that America is spreading its sphere of influence deep into Eastern Europe. Having destabilized relations with two of the world’s largest powers, the president then claims that the U.S. is only partly to blame for a global economic meltdown, further escalating tensions with China and ultimately leading to the invasion of the Pacific Northwest.
According to the movie's own MGM website, the plot develops when "an American city awakens to the surreal sight of foreign paratroopers dropping from the sky – shockingly, the U.S. has been invaded and their hometown is the initial target. Quickly and without warning, the citizens find themselves prisoners and their town under enemy occupation. Determined to fight back, a group of young patriots seek refuge in the surrounding woods, training and reorganizing themselves into a guerrilla group of fighters."
According to the Daily Finance fixture on AOL, the plot is:
Set against the backdrop of contemporary politics, the film begins with an American withdrawal from Iraq. The president decides to redeploy troops to Taiwan, where escalating Chinese militarism is threatening America's ally. At the same time, he also welcomes the former Soviet republic of Georgia into NATO, unleashing Russian worries that America is spreading its sphere of influence deep into Eastern Europe. Having destabilized relations with two of the world’s largest powers, the president then claims that the U.S. is only partly to blame for a global economic meltdown, further escalating tensions with China and ultimately leading to the invasion of the Pacific Northwest.
Monday, June 14, 2010
CHINA will help build NEW YORK SUBWAY -- stealing US jobs
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2009-11/24/content_9028469.htm
China State Construction nets $100m US subway deal
By Liu Yiyu (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-11-24
China State Construction Engineering Corp, the largest contractor in China, has bagged a subway ventilation project worth about $100 million in New York's Manhattan area, marking the construction giant's third order in the United States' infrastructure space this year.
The contract was given to China Construction American Co, a subsidiary, the Wall Street Journal quoted a source as saying.
"The new project, along with the $410-million Hamilton Bridge project and a $1.7-billion entertainment project it won earlier this year, signals China State Construction's ambition to tap the American construction market," said Li Zhirui, an industry analyst at First Capital Securities.
Li, however, said the order came as no surprise as the US government is spending massively on infrastructure projects.
The three orders only account for about 4 percent of the value of its total orders this year, Li added.
In the first three quarters of this year, the Chinese construction giant signed more than $2 billion worth of contracts in the US market. China State Construction was also the contractor for a high school, a railway station and the Chinese embassy in the US.
Despite the progress made in the US market, the Middle East, Asia and Africa remain the State builder's key markets. The value of its contracts in Algeria this year increased 32 percent year-on-year, exceeding $800 million, and the value of its contracts in the Middle East surged 62 percent year on year, also exceeding $800 million.
The domestic market is still the largest contributor to China State Construction's revenue, mainly due to strong property sales and infrastructure sector projects.
China State Construction said it reaped 41 billion yuan in revenue from the property sector in the first 10 months of this year, up 83.2 percent over the same period last year. Orders from the infrastructure construction business were boosted by 90 percent largely due to the fiscal stimulus allocated to China's infrastructure sector.
Citing the company's recent performance, Shenyin & Wanguo Securities has given China State Construction a "buy" rating for the first time.
According to statistics provided by the Ministry of Commerce, China's overseas project contracts have increased 22.7 percent to $100.15 billion in the first 10 months of this year.
China State Construction nets $100m US subway deal
By Liu Yiyu (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-11-24
China State Construction Engineering Corp, the largest contractor in China, has bagged a subway ventilation project worth about $100 million in New York's Manhattan area, marking the construction giant's third order in the United States' infrastructure space this year.
The contract was given to China Construction American Co, a subsidiary, the Wall Street Journal quoted a source as saying.
"The new project, along with the $410-million Hamilton Bridge project and a $1.7-billion entertainment project it won earlier this year, signals China State Construction's ambition to tap the American construction market," said Li Zhirui, an industry analyst at First Capital Securities.
Li, however, said the order came as no surprise as the US government is spending massively on infrastructure projects.
The three orders only account for about 4 percent of the value of its total orders this year, Li added.
In the first three quarters of this year, the Chinese construction giant signed more than $2 billion worth of contracts in the US market. China State Construction was also the contractor for a high school, a railway station and the Chinese embassy in the US.
Despite the progress made in the US market, the Middle East, Asia and Africa remain the State builder's key markets. The value of its contracts in Algeria this year increased 32 percent year-on-year, exceeding $800 million, and the value of its contracts in the Middle East surged 62 percent year on year, also exceeding $800 million.
The domestic market is still the largest contributor to China State Construction's revenue, mainly due to strong property sales and infrastructure sector projects.
China State Construction said it reaped 41 billion yuan in revenue from the property sector in the first 10 months of this year, up 83.2 percent over the same period last year. Orders from the infrastructure construction business were boosted by 90 percent largely due to the fiscal stimulus allocated to China's infrastructure sector.
Citing the company's recent performance, Shenyin & Wanguo Securities has given China State Construction a "buy" rating for the first time.
According to statistics provided by the Ministry of Commerce, China's overseas project contracts have increased 22.7 percent to $100.15 billion in the first 10 months of this year.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Secretary of Defense Gates: China could undermine US military power in Pacific:
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.a2e736d334e760c3afc9d72bbc9a211c.bb1&show_article=1
China could undermine US military power in Pacific: Gates
Sep 16 01:33 PM US/Eastern
China's increasingly advanced weaponry could undermine US military power in the Pacific, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Wednesday.
Echoing US intelligence guidelines released on Tuesday that warned of Beijing's military modernization, Gates said US naval carriers and air bases in the Pacific faced new threats from China.
"In fact, when considering the military-modernization programs of countries like China, we should be concerned less with their potential ability to challenge the US symmetrically -- fighter to fighter or ship to ship -- and more with their ability to disrupt our freedom of movement and narrow our strategic options," Gates said in a speech to the Air Force Association.
"Investments in cyber and anti-satellite warfare, anti-air and anti-ship weaponry, and ballistic missiles could threaten America's primary way to project power and help allies in the Pacific -- in particular our forward air bases and carrier strike groups," Gates said in National Harbor, Maryland.
The new threats meant long-range military aircraft would take on greater importance as the latest weaponry would "degrade the effectiveness of short-range fighters and put more of a premium on being able to strike from over the horizon -- whatever form that capability might take," he said.
Defense analysts have warned that the US military will soon lose its dominance on the high seas, in space and in cyberspace as China and other emerging powers obtain sophisticated weaponry and missiles.
The United States released its 2009 National Intelligence Strategy document Tuesday, in which China's "natural resource-focused diplomacy and military modernization" were cited as factors making it a "global challenge."
The intelligence guidelines for the next four years also elevated the importance of the cyber domain, singling out China as "very aggressive in the cyberworld."
China could undermine US military power in Pacific: Gates
Sep 16 01:33 PM US/Eastern
China's increasingly advanced weaponry could undermine US military power in the Pacific, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Wednesday.
Echoing US intelligence guidelines released on Tuesday that warned of Beijing's military modernization, Gates said US naval carriers and air bases in the Pacific faced new threats from China.
"In fact, when considering the military-modernization programs of countries like China, we should be concerned less with their potential ability to challenge the US symmetrically -- fighter to fighter or ship to ship -- and more with their ability to disrupt our freedom of movement and narrow our strategic options," Gates said in a speech to the Air Force Association.
"Investments in cyber and anti-satellite warfare, anti-air and anti-ship weaponry, and ballistic missiles could threaten America's primary way to project power and help allies in the Pacific -- in particular our forward air bases and carrier strike groups," Gates said in National Harbor, Maryland.
The new threats meant long-range military aircraft would take on greater importance as the latest weaponry would "degrade the effectiveness of short-range fighters and put more of a premium on being able to strike from over the horizon -- whatever form that capability might take," he said.
Defense analysts have warned that the US military will soon lose its dominance on the high seas, in space and in cyberspace as China and other emerging powers obtain sophisticated weaponry and missiles.
The United States released its 2009 National Intelligence Strategy document Tuesday, in which China's "natural resource-focused diplomacy and military modernization" were cited as factors making it a "global challenge."
The intelligence guidelines for the next four years also elevated the importance of the cyber domain, singling out China as "very aggressive in the cyberworld."
Friday, June 11, 2010
Is Obama Hostile to England because of Kenya Colonial Past?
Most of us recall the ridiculously cheesy diplomatic gifts that Obama gave to the Queen of England and to the Prime Minister. England gave some deeply historic and meaningful gifts. Obama gave the Queen some movie DVD's which don't work on European TV's. We saw this as Obama's incompetence.
Obama bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia (guardian of the two most holy sites in Islam) but did not bow to the Queen of England. Obama's explanation that the bow was 'protocol' fails to explain why the protocol applies only to Muslim Kings, not to the English Queen. (Of course, the President of the U.S. should not bow to anyone.)
But could it have been an intentional insult? Commentators in England are arguign that Obama's slights and insults to Obama are part of Obama's Kenyan roots. Kenya was an English colony. Some Kenyans, especially the radical Left, may view England engatively from England's administration of Kenya.
One English commentator is proposing a BOYCOTT of the USA over Obama. He points to Obama's change of US policy over England's claim to the Falkland Islands as a completely unnecessary, gratuitious slap at England.
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/alexsingleton/100029555/why-barack-obama-has-made-me-boycott-america/
As another commentator added:
http://inthisdimension.com/2010/06/04/london-daily-telegraph-on-obama/
One of the most poorly kept secrets in Washington is President Obama’s animosity toward Great Britain, presumably because of what he regards as its sins while ruling Kenya (1895-1963).
One of Barack Hussein Obama’s first acts as president was to return to Britain a bust of Winston Churchill that had graced the Oval Office since 9/11. He followed this up by denying Prime Minister Gordon Brown, on his first state visit, the usual joint press conference with flags.
The president was “too tired” to grant the leader of America’s closest ally a proper welcome, his aides told British journalists.
Mr. Obama followed this up with cheesy gifts for Mr. Brown and the Queen. Columnist Ian Martin described his behavior as “rudeness personified.” There was more rudeness in store for Mr. Brown at the opening session of the United Nations in September. “The prime minister was forced to dash through the kitchens of the UN in New York to secure five minutes of face time with President Obama after five requests for a sit down meeting were rejected by the White House,” said London Telegraph columnist David Hughes. Mr. Obama’s “churlishness is unforgivable,” Mr. Hughes said.
The administration went beyond snubs and slights last week when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton endorsed the demand of Argentine President Cristina Kirchner, a Hugo Chavez ally, for mediation of Argentina’s specious claim to the Falkland Islands, a British dependency since 1833. The people who live in the Falklands, who speak English, want nothing to do with Argentina. When, in 1982, an earlier Argentine dictatorship tried to seize the Falklands by force, the British — with strong support from President Ronald Reagan — expelled them.
“It is truly shocking that Barack Obama has decided to disregard our shared history,” wrote Telegraph columnist Toby Young. “Does Britain’s friendship really mean so little to him?” One could ask, does the friendship of anyone in the entire world mean anything to him?
“I recently asked several senior administration officials, separately, to name a foreign leader with whom Barack Obama has forged a strong personal relationship during his first year in office,” wrote Jackson Diehl, deputy editorial page editor of the Washington Post, on Monday. “A lot of hemming and hawing ensued.” One official named French President Nicolas Sarkozy, but his contempt for Mr. Obama is an open secret. Another named German Chancellor Angela Merkel. But, said Mr. Diehl, “Merkel too has been conspicuously cool toward Obama.”
Obama bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia (guardian of the two most holy sites in Islam) but did not bow to the Queen of England. Obama's explanation that the bow was 'protocol' fails to explain why the protocol applies only to Muslim Kings, not to the English Queen. (Of course, the President of the U.S. should not bow to anyone.)
But could it have been an intentional insult? Commentators in England are arguign that Obama's slights and insults to Obama are part of Obama's Kenyan roots. Kenya was an English colony. Some Kenyans, especially the radical Left, may view England engatively from England's administration of Kenya.
One English commentator is proposing a BOYCOTT of the USA over Obama. He points to Obama's change of US policy over England's claim to the Falkland Islands as a completely unnecessary, gratuitious slap at England.
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/alexsingleton/100029555/why-barack-obama-has-made-me-boycott-america/
As another commentator added:
http://inthisdimension.com/2010/06/04/london-daily-telegraph-on-obama/
One of the most poorly kept secrets in Washington is President Obama’s animosity toward Great Britain, presumably because of what he regards as its sins while ruling Kenya (1895-1963).
One of Barack Hussein Obama’s first acts as president was to return to Britain a bust of Winston Churchill that had graced the Oval Office since 9/11. He followed this up by denying Prime Minister Gordon Brown, on his first state visit, the usual joint press conference with flags.
The president was “too tired” to grant the leader of America’s closest ally a proper welcome, his aides told British journalists.
Mr. Obama followed this up with cheesy gifts for Mr. Brown and the Queen. Columnist Ian Martin described his behavior as “rudeness personified.” There was more rudeness in store for Mr. Brown at the opening session of the United Nations in September. “The prime minister was forced to dash through the kitchens of the UN in New York to secure five minutes of face time with President Obama after five requests for a sit down meeting were rejected by the White House,” said London Telegraph columnist David Hughes. Mr. Obama’s “churlishness is unforgivable,” Mr. Hughes said.
The administration went beyond snubs and slights last week when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton endorsed the demand of Argentine President Cristina Kirchner, a Hugo Chavez ally, for mediation of Argentina’s specious claim to the Falkland Islands, a British dependency since 1833. The people who live in the Falklands, who speak English, want nothing to do with Argentina. When, in 1982, an earlier Argentine dictatorship tried to seize the Falklands by force, the British — with strong support from President Ronald Reagan — expelled them.
“It is truly shocking that Barack Obama has decided to disregard our shared history,” wrote Telegraph columnist Toby Young. “Does Britain’s friendship really mean so little to him?” One could ask, does the friendship of anyone in the entire world mean anything to him?
“I recently asked several senior administration officials, separately, to name a foreign leader with whom Barack Obama has forged a strong personal relationship during his first year in office,” wrote Jackson Diehl, deputy editorial page editor of the Washington Post, on Monday. “A lot of hemming and hawing ensued.” One official named French President Nicolas Sarkozy, but his contempt for Mr. Obama is an open secret. Another named German Chancellor Angela Merkel. But, said Mr. Diehl, “Merkel too has been conspicuously cool toward Obama.”
China thinks WOMEN CANNOT DRIVE
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8432887.stm
BBC NEWS 28 December 2009
China shopping centre builds 'car park for women'
A shopping centre in China's Hebei province has built a car park with wider spaces that it says is designed especially to suit women drivers.
The women-only car park in Shijiazhuang city is also painted in pink and light purple to appeal to female tastes.
Official Wang Zheng told AFP news agency the car park was meant to cater to women's "strong sense of colour and different sense of distance".
The parking bays are one metre (3ft) wider than normal spaces, he said.
The Wanxiang-Tiancheng shopping centre had also "installed signs and security monitoring equipment that corresponded more to women's needs", he said.
The Global Times website says female parking attendants have been trained to help guide women drivers into their parking spaces. The bays also have extra lighting.
BBC NEWS 28 December 2009
China shopping centre builds 'car park for women'
A shopping centre in China's Hebei province has built a car park with wider spaces that it says is designed especially to suit women drivers.
The women-only car park in Shijiazhuang city is also painted in pink and light purple to appeal to female tastes.
Official Wang Zheng told AFP news agency the car park was meant to cater to women's "strong sense of colour and different sense of distance".
The parking bays are one metre (3ft) wider than normal spaces, he said.
The Wanxiang-Tiancheng shopping centre had also "installed signs and security monitoring equipment that corresponded more to women's needs", he said.
The Global Times website says female parking attendants have been trained to help guide women drivers into their parking spaces. The bays also have extra lighting.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Is China's Politburo spoiling for a showdown with America?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/7442926/Is-Chinas-Politburo-spoiling-for-a-showdown-with-America.html
Is China's Politburo spoiling for a showdown with America?
The long-simmering clash between the world's two great powers is coming to a head, with dangerous implications for the international system.
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard 14 Mar 2010
China has succumbed to hubris. It has mistaken the soft diplomacy of Barack Obama for weakness, mistaken the US credit crisis for decline, and mistaken its own mercantilist bubble for ascendancy. There are echoes of Anglo-German spats before the First World War, when Wilhelmine Berlin so badly misjudged the strategic balance of power and over-played its hand.
Within a month the US Treasury must rule whether China is a "currency manipulator", triggering sanctions under US law. This has been finessed before, but we are in a new world now with America's U6 unemployment at 16.8pc.
Is China's Politburo spoiling for a showdown with America?
The long-simmering clash between the world's two great powers is coming to a head, with dangerous implications for the international system.
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard 14 Mar 2010
China has succumbed to hubris. It has mistaken the soft diplomacy of Barack Obama for weakness, mistaken the US credit crisis for decline, and mistaken its own mercantilist bubble for ascendancy. There are echoes of Anglo-German spats before the First World War, when Wilhelmine Berlin so badly misjudged the strategic balance of power and over-played its hand.
Within a month the US Treasury must rule whether China is a "currency manipulator", triggering sanctions under US law. This has been finessed before, but we are in a new world now with America's U6 unemployment at 16.8pc.
House votes to allow Puerto Rico to choose status. Island may decide whether to become nation's 51st state
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=147661
Posted: April 29, 2010
By Chelsea Schilling WorldNetDaily
A vote in the U.S. House of Representatives today has put Puerto Rico one step closer on a path to becoming the nation's 51st state.
The House passed H.R. 2499, the Puerto Rico Democracy Act, on a 223-169 vote. Now the Senate will take up the measure.
Posted: April 29, 2010
By Chelsea Schilling WorldNetDaily
A vote in the U.S. House of Representatives today has put Puerto Rico one step closer on a path to becoming the nation's 51st state.
The House passed H.R. 2499, the Puerto Rico Democracy Act, on a 223-169 vote. Now the Senate will take up the measure.
Military Academic Paper in China Sets Off Alarms in U.S.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/21/world/asia/21grid.html
By JOHN MARKOFF and DAVID BARBOZA
Published: March 20, 2010
It came as a surprise this month to Wang Jianwei, a graduate engineering student in Liaoning, China, that he had been described as a potential cyberwarrior before the United States Congress.
Larry M. Wortzel, a military strategist and China specialist, told the House Foreign Affairs Committee on March 10 that it should be concerned because “Chinese researchers at the Institute of Systems Engineering of Dalian University of Technology published a paper on how to attack a small U.S. power grid sub-network in a way that would cause a cascading failure of the entire U.S.”
When reached by telephone, Mr. Wang said he and his professor had indeed published “Cascade-Based Attack Vulnerability on the U.S. Power Grid” in an international journal called Safety Science last spring. But Mr. Wang said he had simply been trying to find ways to enhance the stability of power grids by exploring potential vulnerabilities.
“We usually say ‘attack’ so you can see what would happen,” he said. “My emphasis is on how you can protect this. My goal is to find a solution to make the network safer and better protected.” And independent American scientists who read his paper said it was true: Mr. Wang’s work was a conventional technical exercise that in no way could be used to take down a power grid.
The difference between Mr. Wang’s explanation and Mr. Wortzel’s conclusion is of more than academic interest. It shows that in an atmosphere already charged with hostility between the United States and China over cybersecurity issues, including large-scale attacks on computer networks, even a misunderstanding has the potential to escalate tension and set off an overreaction.
By JOHN MARKOFF and DAVID BARBOZA
Published: March 20, 2010
It came as a surprise this month to Wang Jianwei, a graduate engineering student in Liaoning, China, that he had been described as a potential cyberwarrior before the United States Congress.
Larry M. Wortzel, a military strategist and China specialist, told the House Foreign Affairs Committee on March 10 that it should be concerned because “Chinese researchers at the Institute of Systems Engineering of Dalian University of Technology published a paper on how to attack a small U.S. power grid sub-network in a way that would cause a cascading failure of the entire U.S.”
When reached by telephone, Mr. Wang said he and his professor had indeed published “Cascade-Based Attack Vulnerability on the U.S. Power Grid” in an international journal called Safety Science last spring. But Mr. Wang said he had simply been trying to find ways to enhance the stability of power grids by exploring potential vulnerabilities.
“We usually say ‘attack’ so you can see what would happen,” he said. “My emphasis is on how you can protect this. My goal is to find a solution to make the network safer and better protected.” And independent American scientists who read his paper said it was true: Mr. Wang’s work was a conventional technical exercise that in no way could be used to take down a power grid.
The difference between Mr. Wang’s explanation and Mr. Wortzel’s conclusion is of more than academic interest. It shows that in an atmosphere already charged with hostility between the United States and China over cybersecurity issues, including large-scale attacks on computer networks, even a misunderstanding has the potential to escalate tension and set off an overreaction.
Hispanics LEAVING Arizona ahead of Immigration Law
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-06-08-immigration_N.htm
By Alan Gomez, USA TODAY
Arizona's tough new immigration enforcement law is fueling an exodus of Hispanics from the state seven weeks before it goes into effect, according to officials and residents in the state.
Though no one has precise figures, reports from school officials, businesses and individuals indicate worried Hispanics — both legal and illegal — are leaving the state in anticipation of the law, which will go into effect July 29.
Schools in Hispanic areas report unusual drops in enrollment. The Balsz Elementary School District is 75% Hispanic, and within a month of the law's passage, the parents of 70 students pulled them out of school, said District Superintendent Jeffrey Smith. The district lost seven students over the same one-month period last year, and parents tell Smith the Arizona law is the reason for leaving.
They're leaving to another state where they feel more welcome," he said.
The measure, signed into law April 23 by Republican Gov. Jan Brewer, requires a police officer to determine a person's immigration status if they are stopped, detained or arrested and there is "reasonable suspicion" they are in the country illegally.
About 100,000 illegal immigrants left Arizona after the state passed a law in 2007 that enhanced penalties on businesses that hired them, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Some early signs suggest another exodus.
Businesses serving the Hispanic community say business is down, signaling that illegal immigrants are holding on to cash in anticipation of a move from the state, said David Castillo, co-founder of the Latin Association of Arizona, a chamber of commerce for nearly 400 first-generation Hispanic business owners.
By Alan Gomez, USA TODAY
Arizona's tough new immigration enforcement law is fueling an exodus of Hispanics from the state seven weeks before it goes into effect, according to officials and residents in the state.
Though no one has precise figures, reports from school officials, businesses and individuals indicate worried Hispanics — both legal and illegal — are leaving the state in anticipation of the law, which will go into effect July 29.
Schools in Hispanic areas report unusual drops in enrollment. The Balsz Elementary School District is 75% Hispanic, and within a month of the law's passage, the parents of 70 students pulled them out of school, said District Superintendent Jeffrey Smith. The district lost seven students over the same one-month period last year, and parents tell Smith the Arizona law is the reason for leaving.
They're leaving to another state where they feel more welcome," he said.
The measure, signed into law April 23 by Republican Gov. Jan Brewer, requires a police officer to determine a person's immigration status if they are stopped, detained or arrested and there is "reasonable suspicion" they are in the country illegally.
About 100,000 illegal immigrants left Arizona after the state passed a law in 2007 that enhanced penalties on businesses that hired them, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Some early signs suggest another exodus.
Businesses serving the Hispanic community say business is down, signaling that illegal immigrants are holding on to cash in anticipation of a move from the state, said David Castillo, co-founder of the Latin Association of Arizona, a chamber of commerce for nearly 400 first-generation Hispanic business owners.
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