There has been a tremendous amount of technological interchange between North Korea, the Russians, and the Chinese. North Korea has also been working for years in the refinement (development) of its nuclear arsenal, especially in partnership with Pakistan and Iran. In a press conference at the Pentagon on October 24, 2014 reporters were briefed by General Curtis Scaparrotti, the U.S. Military Commander in Korea. This is what the general had to say:
“I believe they [the North Koreans] have the capability to have miniaturized the [nuclear] device at this point, and they have the technology to potentially, actually deliver what they say they have.”
On March 9, 2016, Kim Jong-Un for the first time stated that North Korea had accomplished the miniaturization of nuclear warheads that are compatible with ICBM’s. Admiral William Gortney, Commander of US NORTHCOM was in front of a Senate Committee on March 10, 2016 briefing them on the potential North Korean nuclear threat. The Admiral stated it was “prudent to assume Pyongyang had the ability to miniaturize a nuclear warhead” and deliver it via ICBM that could actually strike the continental U.S.
Finally, (and the most compelling proponent of the danger posed by North Korea), Dr. Peter V. Pry, the foremost expert on EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse) threats by established and rogue nations has long upheld that Iran and North Korea hold an EMP first strike as central to their current military doctrines. Pry has spent countless hours briefing Senate Investigating Committees on the dangers of an EMP strike by these two nations.
The frightening thing about this tete–a–tete is that neither side’s leaders or elites will face any kind of danger or peril that would result from a nuclear conflagration, but the populations of both countries would suffer immeasurably. A general and an admiral have stated their belief in the miniaturization capabilities of North Korea regarding nuclear warheads. The foremost expert on the EMP has provided prima facie evidence before the Senate and numerous commissions attesting to those capabilities. Each day North Korea ramps up its tests and its threats. Russia and China publicly whisper their disapproval of such actions and words while taking no steps to actually stop them.
The next world war will be initiated by a first strike utilizing an EMP weapon.
There is no timetable. The threat is real, and it is imminent. It is a matter of time before it is carried out.
Increased militarization by the US and its allies against Beijing tell a very different story as war may ultimately breakout as Washington seems to have "overplayed their hand."
On Tuesday evening, US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Manila, conveying Washington’s interest in avoiding a "confrontation" in the South China Sea, following Beijing’s refusal to submit to the judgment of the Hague arbitration court’s ruling that rejects China’s claim to most of the waters in the region.
Beijing blasted the ruling and has steadfastly denied its findings, arguing, as a majority of international legal scholars have, that the court lacks jurisdiction over the country under a treaty which requires both parties to a dispute to first submit to being bound by the court’s decisions, what is known as conditional jurisdiction.
China has also expressed its growing disdain with United States meddling in the region, part of the Obama Administration’s "pivot towards Asia," with the express goal of empowering China’s regional competitors to encircle the regime. Chinese President Xi Jinping also warned this weekend against Japan intervening in the territorial dispute, given that Tokyo has no active claim to the waters.
Kerry called on China and the Philippines to join in two-party talks to try to establish a compromise, one that will certainly leave Beijing with less regional control than they believe themselves entitled to.
"We hope to see a process that will narrow the geographic scope of the maritime disputes, set standards for behavior in contested areas, lead to mutually acceptable solutions, perhaps even a series of confidence-building steps," said Kerry.
The statement comes in the wake of Beijing accusations that the US, Japan and Australia, all not parties to the dispute, are “fanning the flames” of regional tensions by making a joint statement on the South China Sea.
An Israeli flag in flames on the streets of Philadelphia took the Democratic Party by surprise on Tuesday night, prompting a strong response from senior advisers to Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, who called for his rival to denounce the vandalism.
Protesters shouted “Long live the intifada” as the flag burned – an explicit call to violence against Israelis, in direct contravention of the Democratic Party platform agreed upon here earlier this week.
Protesters shouted “Long live the intifada” as the flag burned – an explicit call to violence against Israelis, in direct contravention of the Democratic Party platform agreed upon here earlier this week.
Protests have shrunk substantially since the first night of the convention, when thousands of liberal activists crisscrossed the city to rally against their presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton, and for a slate of decades-old, stubborn causes, from civil rights to climate change and, of course, the freedom of Palestinians.
“Unfortunately, anti-Israel activists have always been part of these sorts of protests,” said Aaron Keyak, a Jewish Democratic consultant attending the Democratic convention.
One of Trump’s top two Israel advisers, Jason Greenblatt, noted that Palestinian flags were flying inside the convention arena itself.
Clinton has “failed to condemn the desecration of the American and Israeli flags and the glorification of the Palestinian intifada mere feet away from their convention hall,” Greenblatt said in a statement on Wednesday. “Their silence is deafening.”
Left-wing billionaire George Soros is once again opening his wallet to help Democrats win an election. It didn’t work out so well for Soros when he dumped $27 million into the 2004 election to defeat George W. Bush. Since then Soros has reportedly held back on going all in but, as Politico reports, that is changing in 2016:
People close to Soros say he seems more politically engaged than he’s been in years, motivated they say by a combination of faith in Clinton and fear of her GOP rival Donald Trump, who Soros has accused of “doing the work of ISIS” by stoking fears.
Eventually Politico gets to a list of Soros’ donations:
Through the end of June, Soros had donated $7 million to a super PAC supporting Clinton called Priorities USA Action, according to FEC filings, making it the biggest recipient of his political largesse this cycle. And three Democratic operatives say he’s considering donating another $3 million to the group.
FEC records also show Soros gave $2 million to American Bridge 21st Century, an opposition research super PAC that has been targeting Trump and other Republican candidates, and $700,000 to an assortment of Democratic party committees, PACs and campaigns, including Clinton’s.
American Bridge is the SuperPAC founded by Clinton crony David Brock, who also runs Media Matters. In addition, Soros is reportedly giving $5 million to a Latino voter outreach group called Immigrant Voters Win and $5 million to the Voting Rights Trust, a group that fights in court against state laws requiring ID to vote. That latter commitment is one Soros made more than a year ago according to the NY Times.
The latest confirmation that Germany's troubled banking giant Deutsche Bank is unable to navigate the troubled waters of NIRP came on Wednesday when the bank announced that its second-quarter net income fell 98% from a year earlier, hurt by weaker performances in trading, investment banking and other core areas. The lender said net income tumbled to €20 million ($22 million) from €818 million a year earlier, modestly better than the €22mm loss expected, while net revenue dropped 20% to €7.4 billion.
After rebounding modestly on the beat, the bank’s shares fell tumbled 5% on Wednesday morning, their lower level in 2 weeks; today's decline has dragged DB stock 45% lower in 2016, making it one of Europe's worst performers YTD (the Stoxx 600 is down 27% in 2016).
Investors were unimpressed, and the shares now trade for two thirds less than their tangible book value, a steeper discount than even during the depths of the financial crisis.
What is more troubling is that as Bloomberg adds, the worst is yet to come.
Hamas is digging more than six miles of tunnels each month toward Israel, which has no guaranteed techniques for detecting them, Israeli officials said Wednesday.
Amid an ongoing argument among politicians and bereaved Israeli families over whether the Netanyahu government dealt with the Hamas tunnel threat appropriately and effectively before and during the 2014 war in Gaza, the unnamed Israeli defense and diplomatic officials were quoted by Channel 2 news as saying that Israel knows that Hamas is constantly extending its underground network.
“We have no perfect solution” to the threat, the officials were quoted as saying, “and neither does any other country.”
Israel located and destroyed two Hamas attack tunnels in April and May. Both were discovered in the southern Gaza Strip and ran into Israeli territory.
Oh My!!! This really must be serious, Kerry is getting involved in the China situation. I bet that sure got China's attention.
ReplyDeleteIf he negotiates as hard as he did with Iran, China might be forced to take the North Pole, Australia, and Aunt Betty along with the South China Sea.
Indeed - lol what a joke
ReplyDelete