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Friday 18 September 2015

Russia Is Concerned About America's Far-Off Space Weapons

Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2. Image: DARPA/War Is Boring

This story originally appeared on War Is Boring.

In a near-future war, 1,000 missiles scream toward Russia at Mach 20. Each one a pinpoint strike hitting the Kremlin’s nuclear missiles, military radars, submarine bases—you name it.

Within minutes, 80 percent of Russia’s nuclear arsenal is destroyed without the United States launching a single nuclear weapon of its own. Russia’s military networks are blind, the nation’s ability to strike back eliminated or severely degraded.

The incoming missiles were no ordinary weapons, but hypersonic glide vehicles developed largely in secret under the US Prompt Global Strike program. They travel so fast, shooting them down is effectively impossible.

The capability, begun as a Pentagon project in the mid-2000s, was envisioned as allowing America to strike anywhere on the globe nearly instantaneously, without resorting to nukes. In this futuristic war, it succeeds wildly.

To be sure, Prompt Global Strike is real, but the scenario above is fiction. It will take many years, and billions upon billions of dollars, to make it possible. And that’s if the technology works.

That scenario is a real fear, however, in the minds of many Russian military officials. Russian military journals regularly feature articles presenting future American hypersonic weapons as an existential threat. Far more significantly, the Pentagon’s research—haphazard as it is—has provoked a radical restructuring of the Kremlin’s armed forces.

Since the early days of the Cold War, Russia—then the Soviet Union—and the United States dared not go to war because of the presence of nuclear weapons on both sides. It would be far too dangerous for the planet and human civilization to risk an atomic exchange.

Dramatic aerial shots of devastating Chile quake

Apocalyptic images showing the impact of the 8.3 magnitude earthquake that struck Chile and killed 12 are staggeringly similar to photos from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, which killed almost 16,000.

The quake was felt as far away as Buenos Aires, Argentina. Authorities issued a tsunami alert for Chile’s entire Pacific coast.  

A series of aftershocks, including one measuring 7.0 magnitude and three above 6, shook Chile following Wednesday’s quake, considered to be the world’s strongest so far this year and the biggest to hit the quake-prone nation since 2010.

© Mauricio Ubilla

© Mauricio Ubilla / Reuters

While Wednesday’s tremor was powerful, the 2010 quake was 5.6 times stronger in terms of energy released, according to the US Geological Survey.

© Rodrigo Garrido

© Rodrigo Garrido / Reuters

The homes of 610 people were reportedly damaged to the point where they were unable to return, according to government data. While 179 homes were destroyed, 87,600 remained without electricity and 9,000 without clean water, Reuters reported.

© Chilean Air Force

© Chilean Air Force / Reuters

The government ordered evacuations from coastal areas after the quake hit for fear that any delay could trigger a repeat of a 8.8 magnitude quake disaster in 2010 which killed over 500 people and destroyed 220,000 homes. That fatal quake released so much energy that it shortened the Earth’s day by a fraction of a second by affecting the planet’s rotation.

© Mauricio Ubilla

© Mauricio Ubilla / Reuters

The latest quake knocked out power in the worst hit areas of central Chile. Most buildings, roads and ports have held up well, however.

© Ivan Alvarado

© Ivan Alvarado / Reuters

An emergency area was declared by the government at the northern port city of Coquimbo, where waves of up to 4.5 meters slammed into the shore and fishing boats washed up right on to the streets.

© Rodrigo Garrido

© Rodrigo Garrido / Reuters

© Ivan Alvarado

© Ivan Alvarado / Reuters

“We lost it all. It was horrible,” 79-year-old Hilda Zambra, whose home in Tongoy, a beach town 40km south of Coquimbo, was destroyed by raging waters, told Reuters.

© Rodrigo Garrido

© Rodrigo Garrido / Reuters

Chile is one of the world’s most earthquake-prone countries. It boasts the strongest earthquake ever recorded on Earth. A magnitude-9.5 jolt in 1960 killed over 5,000 people.

© Chilean Air Force

© Chilean Air Force / Reuters

Meanwhile, the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011 was not as kind to those on the ground, killing almost 16,000 people.

A combination of the quake and resulting tsunami led to a meltdown at Fukushima nuclear plant, the worst emergency at a nuclear site since the Chernobyl disaster in 1986.


(L) An aerial view of the coastline of La Serena city in the north of Santiago is seen after an earthquake hit areas of central Chile September 17, 2015. (R) Streets are flooded after a tsunami and earthquake in Yamamoto town, Miyagi Prefecture, March 11, 2011. © Reuters

(L) An aerial view of the coastline of La Serena city in the north of Santiago is seen after an earthquake hit areas of central Chile September 17, 2015. (R) Streets are flooded after a tsunami and earthquake in Yamamoto town, Miyagi Prefecture, March 11, 2011. 

IVF Embryos to be Genetically Manipulated as Scientists Investigate Repeated Miscarriages

If the research licence is granted by the Government’s fertility watchdog it will be only the second known occasion in the world where the chromosomes of human embryos have been genetically manipulated using a revolutionary gene-editing technique called Crispr/Cas9.

When Chinese scientists announced earlier this year that they had genetically altered “spare” human IVF embryos using Crispr/Cas9 for research purposes, there was deep concern among many who thought that they had gone too far – the US Government later imposed a moratorium on federally-funded research in America.

5-Graphic1

The researchers behind the UK application emphasized that the GM embryos will be destroyed once the study is completed, with no risk of them being transplanted into women – which is illegal in Britain. There will be no “GM babies” as the project is aimed solely at basic research into the genetics of early human development, they insisted.

Bank Of England Economist Calls For Cash Ban, Urges Negative Rates

So Haldane has gone from worrying that "financial markets were detaching themselves too materially from fundamentals" and fearing the "biggest risk to global financial stability right now it would be a disorderly reversion in the yields of government bonds globally," the BoE's chief economist has not only called for policies which will enable an even bigger bond bubble but will also remove freedom from the people to do what 'they' think is best with their capital. Indoctrination is complete (or more ominously, is there something Haldane sees that has driven him to this extremist perspective?)

Just three short years ago, Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane appeared a lone voice of sanity in a world fanatically-religious Keynesian-esque worshippers. Admissions in 2013 (on blowing bubbles) and 2014 (on Too Big To Fail "problems from hell") also gave us pause that maybe someone in charge of central planning might actually do something to return the world to some semblance of rational 'free' markets. We were wrong! Haldane appears to have fully transitioned to the dark side, as The Telegraph reports, he made the case for the "radical" option of supporting the economy with negative interest rates, and even suggested that cash could have to be abolished.

Speaking at the Portadown Chamber of Commerce in Northern Ireland, as The Telegraph reports, Mr Haldane's support for a possible cut in rates came as the Bank as a whole has signalled that the next move in rates would be up.

Andy Haldane, one of the Bank’s nine interest rate setters, made the case for the "radical" option of supporting the economy with negative interest rates, and even suggested that cash could have to be abolished.

He said that the "the balance of risks to UK growth, and to UK inflation at the two-year horizon, is skewed squarely and significantly to the downside".

As a result, "there could be a need to loosen rather than tighten the monetary reins as a next step to support UK growth and return inflation to target".

But recent volatility in financial markets, prompted by China, and a decision by the US Federal Reserve to delay rate hikes, have pushed back expectations of the Bank's first rate rise to November 2016.

Traditionally policymakers have resisted cutting rates below zero because when the returns on savings fall into negative territory, it encourages people to take their savings out of the bank and hoard them in cash.

 

 

This could slow, rather than boost, the economy. It would be possible to get around the problem of hoarding by abolishing cash, Mr Haldane said

Interestingly, one idea, Haldane told an audience of business owners in Northern Ireland, could be to scrap cash and adopt a state-issued digital currency like Bitcoin. Although widely reviled as the currency for drug dealers and criminals, Haldane said Bitcoin’s distributed payment technology had ‘real potential’. Which may explain the Fed's sudden fascination in the virtual currency.

NIRP - it would appear - is about to global.

Brawl Breaks Out in Japanese Parliament Over “War Bill”

What do you get when you cross a collapsing economy with a government determined to pass a bill to make overseas military conflicts easier? You get this:

Screen Shot 2015-09-17 at 9.17.43 AM

Yep, this is what transpired overnight as tensions flared over the controversial “War Bill,” which Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is determined to pass in the face of public opposition. I covered this story last month in the post, Unusually Massive Protests Erupt in Japan Against Forthcoming “War Legislation.” Here’s an excerpt:

This story is very important. Not only will this action increase the likelihood of World War III in the Far East, but it’s another important example of a government acting against the will of the people.

Polling has indicated the Japanese public is against a pivot toward militarization and war, but Prime Minister Shinzo Abe  is pushing forward nonetheless. In fact, the current legislation to allow overseas military intervention has already passed the lower house of government. This prompted many Japanese to emerge from their decades long political apathy and get out into the streets. It’s estimated these protests were the largest in recent memory.

Now here’s the latest. From the Guardian:

Japanese politicians scuffled on Thursday during a heated debate over a security bill that could see the military fight abroad for the first time in decades, after thousands rallied to voice their anger.

In scenes uncommon for Japan’s normally sedate parliament, members of the opposition and the ruling coalition pushed and shoved each other as a committee chairman was surrounded.

Tensions fan high after the committee vote was repeatedly delayed over Wednesday night, as opposition MPs blocked doorways and packed the corridors of parliament in protest.

Thirteen people were also reportedly arrested during the evening for “interfering with officers” during a rally of an estimated 13,000 people outside parliament in Tokyo.

Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets to vent their anger during almost daily rallies over the past weeks, a show of public feeling on a scale rarely seen in Japan.

Under the planned changes, the military – known as the self-defence forces – would have the option of going into battle to protect allies such as the United States even if there was no direct threat to Japan or its people.

The prime minister, Shinzo Abe, is keen to get the bills passed before a three-day holiday next week.

Naturally, you can’t let little things like global peace get in the way of an incompetent, nepotist bureaucrat’s extra day off.

Meanwhile, here’s a shot of Abe during the brawl.

Screen Shot 2015-09-17 at 9.15.50 AM

As suspected, this is the man’s primary leadership strategy.

Parliamentary rules say if the upper chamber does not pass the bills within 60 days, they can be returned to the lower house and voted into law.

Abe is reportedly ready to take this step, despite the risk of further angering an already hostile public.

Silly serfs, you thought you had a democracy?

Many legal scholars have said the changes are unconstitutional, and critics worry they would drag Japan into US wars in far-flung parts of the globe.

It’s not a “worry,” you can pretty much add “being dragged into U.S. imperial boondoggles overseas” to death and taxes.

Watch the video here:

For related articles, see:

Unusually Massive Protests Erupt in Japan Against Forthcoming “War Legislation”

Japan’s Economic Disaster – Real Wages Lowest Since 1990, Record Numbers Describe “Hard” Living Conditions

The Stock Market Myth and How the Japanese Middle Class is on the Precipice Thanks to Abenomics

War on Democracy: Spain and Japan Move to Criminalize Protests

How Japan’s “Stealth Constitution” Destroys Civil Rights and Sets the Stage for Dictatorship

In Liberty,
Michael Krieger

Meanwhile, In Burkina Faso: Images From A West Africa Military Coup

In October of last year, Blaise Compaoré stepped down after nearly three decades as President of the West African nation of Burkina Faso amid a popular uprising that some likened (in spirit anyway) to the protests that defined the Arab Spring.

On Thursday, October 30, Compaoré sought to pass legislation that would have paved the way for a new 5-year term. Here's how WSJ describes what happened next:

 

 

That ambition was thwarted by tens of thousands of his compatriots, who swarmed the streets of the capital Ouagadougou. They set fire to the parliament building where the vote had been scheduled to take place, among other government offices. They tore through hotels and shops seen as pro-regime. Up to 30 people were killed in rioting, a French diplomat said, citing preliminary reports.

As the Journal went on to detail, "under Compaoré’s rule, Burkina Faso [had] seen an explosion of young people flocking to its cities. Many seek the perks of metropolitan life—jobs, spending money, a chance to travel abroad—only to find themselves on the underside of an economy where just 5% of working age adults are employed full time, according to a 2013 Gallup Poll." “We wanted a change, that’s all. If we people didn’t complain, it would have never happened," one citizen told the paper. 

But the push for democratic reform would be short lived. Predicatably, several members of the military immediately declared themselves leader prompting the US and France to warn that if army officers took power, Compaoré’s outster would be considered a military coup. Around three weeks later, former foreign minister Michel Kafando was named interim President by a committee made up of military, religious, and political leaders.

Fast forward to the present. Burkina Faso had planned to hold free elections (viewed as a turning point for its democracy) on October 11, but that hope was dashed virtually overnight on Wednesday when, apparently in retaliation for a government decision to disband the Presidential Guard, the elite military unit (which served the Compaoré regime for decades) arrested President Kafando along with Prime Minister Yacouba Isaac Zida.

Here's Reuters with more:

 

 

A shadowy spy master formerly the right-hand man to toppled President Blaise Compaore seized power in Burkina Faso at the head of a military coup on Thursday, less than a month before elections meant to restore democracy in the West African state.

General Gilbert Diendere, who for three decades served as Compaore's chief military adviser and operated an intelligence network spanning West Africa, was named as the head of a military junta called the National Council for Democracy.

The power grab led by the presidential guard unfolded three days after a government committee recommended dissolving the elite unit, which was a pillar of Compaore's 27-year rule and has repeatedly meddled in politics since his fall.

A spokesman for the coup leaders hinted at a political agenda to back a return to power by loyalists to Compaore, who has remained in exile in neighbouring Ivory Coast since he was toppled by a popular uprising in October last year.

Under Compaore, Burkina emerged as an important regional ally of France and the United States against al Qaeda-linked militants. It hosts some 200 French special forces as part of France's Barkhane regional anti-terrorist operation.

On Thursday, soldiers fired warning shots to disperse a crowd of more than 100 protesters gathered in central Independence Square of the capital Ouagadougou. Soldiers drove the streets in pick-up trucks, beating and detaining demonstrators.

And more from WSJ:

 

 

The coup, which was confirmed in a television and radio announcement on Thursday, was greeted by protests in the capital Ouagadougou, which turned deadly as the demonstrators clashed with soldiers. At least 12 protesters were killed by soldiers during the clashes, according to a pro-democracy movement called Balai Citoyen, or Citizens With Brooms.

At least one presidential candidate said his home had been ransacked by the army, as the military attempted to regain control of the situation. However, the troops have struggled to quell the protests in the country at large.

A curfew is now in place, and the military has closed the borders. Here are the visuals:

*  *  *

We suppose the question now, is how the West will view the coup in light of the spread of Islamist conflicts in neighboring Mali. We also wonder what this means for the future of Operation Creek Sand.

Assad Goes On Offense, Bombs ISIS "Capital", Deploys New Russian Weapons

Now that Moscow has officially confirmed that Russian boots are on the ground at Latakia and that the Kremlin is actively ramping up its technical and logistical support for the Assad regime, one point we've been keen to drive home is that rebels, "freedom fighters", and marauding, black flag-waving jihadists alike will now have a much tougher time routing government forces and taking control of the country.

After all, battling Assad's depleted army (which is effectively fighting a three-front war with limited resources) is one thing, but fighting Russian special forces is entirely another, which is of course why the US is so "concerned" about the Russian presence in Syria. Put simply: if the Kremlin doesn't want Assad to fall, then Assad will probably not fall if the only challenge comes from various ragtag militias and Islamic militant groups. That calculus obviously changes if the challenge suddenly comes from a US-backed coalition consisting of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, France, Britain, Jordan, and Qatar.

It's with that in mind that we go to Reuters, who reports that the Russians may have breathed new life into Assad's forces which have reportedly begun using new weaponry and launching offensive strikes on Raqqa (the de facto ISIS capital). Here's the story:

The Syrian military has recently started using new types of air and ground weapons supplied by Russia, a Syrian military source told Reuters on Thursday, underlining growing Russian support to Damascus that is alarming the United States.

"The weapons are highly effective and very accurate, and hit targets precisely," the source said in response to a question about Russian support. "We can say they are all types of weapons, be it air or ground."

The source said the army had been trained in the use of the weapons in recent months and was now deploying them, declining to give further details other than saying they were "new types".

Syria's Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said on Thursday Russia has provided new weapons and trained Syrian troops how to use them, without saying when or naming any specific systems.

He told state television the government would be prepared to go further and ask Russian forces to fight alongside its troops if needed - though he said there were no such soldiers there now.

Activists said Syrian government war planes had mounted at least 12 air strikes in Raqqa, often described as Islamic State's de facto capital. The raids started at around 11:30 a.m. and came in three separate waves that hit eight targets.

The strikes hit close to at least four Islamic State offices, including one used by its self-appointed religious police force, said an activist in Raqqa who was contacted via the internet and declined to be named for security reasons.

Islamic State imposed a curfew in two parts of the city.

What this seems to indicate is that regime forces are now set to take the fight to ISIS, which could mean that an already fluid situation is about to become even more indeterminate, so we thought this an opprtune time to remind readers that if you're having a difficult time keeping track of who's fighting who and why, you're not alone.

Take it from us, the haphazard collection of foreign forces, jihadists, rebels, mercenaries, and militants is hard enough to keep track of on its own, and the situation is further complicated by ever shifting alliances, divergent objectives, and external meddling.

Throw in the fact that the US has, at various times, trained and inserted a variety of makeshift contingents, all of which (well, with the exception of “four or five”) have been either killed or captured, or have otherwise disappeared into the desert and you have, to quote an unnamed Pentagon official who spoke to CBS last month, “a friggin’ mess.” 

Complicating things further is the fact that the Russians are on the ground and building forward operating bases near Latakia and Turkish troops, if they ever get tired of chasing Kurds in the mountains of Northern Iraq, will probably find themselves operating somewhere between Kobani and Aleppo. As for US SpecOps (which the Pentagon swearsare not engaged in combat despite what Gen. Lloyd Austin seemed to suggest when speaking to the Senate Armed Services Committee on Wednesday), there’s no telling where and with whom they’re fighting.

So, as the confusion and violence intensifies we present the following map from Reuters, which will hopefully be useful in helping to explain who controls what and where. 

 

Meanwhile, In Burkina Faso: Images From A West Africa Military Coup

Now that Moscow has officially confirmed that Russian boots are on the ground at Latakia and that the Kremlin is actively ramping up its technical and logistical support for the Assad regime, one point we've been keen to drive home is that rebels, "freedom fighters", and marauding, black flag-waving jihadists alike will now have a much tougher time routing government forces and taking control of the country.

After all, battling Assad's depleted army (which is effectively fighting a three-front war with limited resources) is one thing, but fighting Russian special forces is entirely another, which is of course why the US is so "concerned" about the Russian presence in Syria. Put simply: if the Kremlin doesn't want Assad to fall, then Assad will probably not fall if the only challenge comes from various ragtag militias and Islamic militant groups. That calculus obviously changes if the challenge suddenly comes from a US-backed coalition consisting of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, France, Britain, Jordan, and Qatar.

It's with that in mind that we go to Reuters, who reports that the Russians may have breathed new life into Assad's forces which have reportedly begun using new weaponry and launching offensive strikes on Raqqa (the de facto ISIS capital). Here's the story:

The Syrian military has recently started using new types of air and ground weapons supplied by Russia, a Syrian military source told Reuters on Thursday, underlining growing Russian support to Damascus that is alarming the United States.

"The weapons are highly effective and very accurate, and hit targets precisely," the source said in response to a question about Russian support. "We can say they are all types of weapons, be it air or ground."

The source said the army had been trained in the use of the weapons in recent months and was now deploying them, declining to give further details other than saying they were "new types".

Syria's Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said on Thursday Russia has provided new weapons and trained Syrian troops how to use them, without saying when or naming any specific systems.

He told state television the government would be prepared to go further and ask Russian forces to fight alongside its troops if needed - though he said there were no such soldiers there now.

Activists said Syrian government war planes had mounted at least 12 air strikes in Raqqa, often described as Islamic State's de facto capital. The raids started at around 11:30 a.m. and came in three separate waves that hit eight targets.

The strikes hit close to at least four Islamic State offices, including one used by its self-appointed religious police force, said an activist in Raqqa who was contacted via the internet and declined to be named for security reasons.

Islamic State imposed a curfew in two parts of the city.

What this seems to indicate is that regime forces are now set to take the fight to ISIS, which could mean that an already fluid situation is about to become even more indeterminate, so we thought this an opprtune time to remind readers that if you're having a difficult time keeping track of who's fighting who and why, you're not alone.

Take it from us, the haphazard collection of foreign forces, jihadists, rebels, mercenaries, and militants is hard enough to keep track of on its own, and the situation is further complicated by ever shifting alliances, divergent objectives, and external meddling.

Throw in the fact that the US has, at various times, trained and inserted a variety of makeshift contingents, all of which (well, with the exception of “four or five”) have been either killed or captured, or have otherwise disappeared into the desert and you have, to quote an unnamed Pentagon official who spoke to CBS last month, “a friggin’ mess.” 

Complicating things further is the fact that the Russians are on the ground and building forward operating bases near Latakia and Turkish troops, if they ever get tired of chasing Kurds in the mountains of Northern Iraq, will probably find themselves operating somewhere between Kobani and Aleppo. As for US SpecOps (which the Pentagon swearsare not engaged in combat despite what Gen. Lloyd Austin seemed to suggest when speaking to the Senate Armed Services Committee on Wednesday), there’s no telling where and with whom they’re fighting.

So, as the confusion and violence intensifies we present the following map from Reuters, which will hopefully be useful in helping to explain who controls what and where.