Welcoming China’s leader to two summits in a Russian city, President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Russia and China can overcome their countries’ difficulties by working together.
Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping both arrived Wednesday in the Russian city of Ufa for summits of the BRICS trade group and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
The BRICS group also includes Brazil, India and South Africa, while the SCO, which also focuses on regional security and political issues as well as economics, includes the former Soviet Central Asian republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Iran, India and Pakistan are observer SCO participants. (Read more from “Putin: Russia and China Can Overcome and Difficulty Together” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-07-09 03:53:582016-04-11 10:59:09Putin: Russia and China Can Overcome and Difficulty Together
One of the ramifications of finalizing the nuclear deal with Iran would be a shifting of the balance of Middle East power in Tehran’s favor, wrote longtime State Department negotiator Dennis Ross in Politico on Monday.
If negotiators emerge from their chambers in Vienna with a finalized deal — and right now the deadline has been postponed for the second time to July 10 — and sanctions are phased out according to Iranian compliance, then within six to 12 months Iran could receive up to $150 billion in frozen assets, wrote Ross.
And “even if it chose to use 90 percent of those funds to address real domestic needs, $15 billion could have a dramatic effect on Iran’s ability to use Hezbollah and other Shiite militias to pursue its ‘resistance’ agenda in the region and continue to shift the balance of power in its favor,” wrote Ross, who was a special adviser to former secretary of state Hillary Clinton on Iran . . .
Ross said the deal basically amounted to lifting international sanctions on Iran, which have crippled the country’s economy, in exchange for full transparency, though Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared recently that inspectors would not have access to all of Iran’s military sites, even if the International Atomic Energy Agency had substantiated suspicions. (Read more from “Dennis Ross: Unfrozen Iranian Funds Will Shift Mideast Balance of Power Toward Tehran” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-07-08 02:49:572016-04-11 10:59:11Dennis Ross: Unfrozen Iranian Funds Will Shift Mideast Balance of Power Toward Tehran
Photo Credit: Alalam The latest UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) report on Israel (hereafter “the report”) is poorly reasoned and downright bizarre in many ways. This article focuses on one of its glaring flaws and botched legal analyses: Purporting to analyze the legalities of Israel’s actions while ignoring the basic criminal nature of Hamas and its attacks.
Hamas is an extremist Islamic terrorist organization, similar to Al Qaeda and ISIS, committed to annihilating and replacing Israel with an Arab-Muslim theocracy. The Hamas Charter advocates the next Jewish genocide, and Hamas attacks Israeli civilians by numerous means, including indiscriminate rocketings of nearby towns and villages. Israel conducted military operations to stop the rocketing. Gazans were killed because Hamas embedded its operatives within densely populated areas.
The report mostly ignores these basic facts, and places Hamas on the same footing legally as the State of Israel, treating each as “lawful combatants.”
This is wrong. Hamas rocket attacks are criminal, as is the purpose of the organization: to commit genocide. International law authorizes all nation-states to prevent and punish such crimes. Hamas is an international criminal organization, like Al Qaeda or the Colombian Drug Cartel. Characterizing Hamas’ crimes as “military” grants Hamas unwarranted legitimacy.
Worse, the report sidesteps the issue of criminal aggression. Even if it is a “lawful combatant,” Hamas remains liable for all the consequences of its attacks. When examining any conflict for war-crimes, the first issue is identifying the aggressor. All other questions are secondary. Ignoring Hamas aggression renders the report trivial. (Read more from “This UN Report Shamefully Equates Hamas and Israel” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-07-08 02:49:342016-04-11 10:59:11This UN Report Shamefully Equates Hamas and Israel
Photo Credit: Reuters The IDF will activate in the coming days a new detection system for underground tunnels running between the Gaza Strip and Israel, a senior Israeli military official said on Tuesday, according to Israel’s Channel 2 news.
Marking one year since the launch of last summer’s Operation Protective Edge, the IDF official told reporters that the new system had recently been deployed along the Gaza Strip . . .
Hamas has long used smuggling tunnels between the Gaza Strip and Egypt’s Sinai to smuggle weapons and other goods restricted by Israel’s security blockade. Since the end of hostilities last summer, the group has been seeking new smuggling routes, especially as Egypt has recently ramped-up efforts to stymie smuggling along the Sinai border, the IDF official said.
The source also made note of ties between Hamas and Islamic State-affiliated groups in Sinai, which recently launched a series of deadly attacks against Egyptian forces. He said Hamas had provided training for the Egypt-based terrorists and assisted them in smuggling weapons into Sinai. (Read more from “One Year After Protective Edge, IDF Set to Launch New Detection System for Gaza Tunnels” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-07-08 02:48:462016-04-11 10:59:12One Year After Protective Edge, IDF Set to Launch New Detection System for Gaza Tunnels
The United States has a reported military presence in at least 150 countries. Indeed, it could be said that the sun never sets on the American empire.
Some outposts of that empire are supposed to be kept secret, however, as they are operating in countries placed off limits by treaty or by U.S. law. Somalia is such a place, but that hasn’t stopped the U.S. Defense Department from setting up bases and deploying troops in that country.
In an exclusive report, Foreign Policy exposed an expansing military presence in the war-torn east African nation — a presence that is paying dividends to those that have to sign off on the operations.
“But the shadowy U.S. presence in this strategic port city [Kismayo] in war-torn southern Somalia has clear consequences for anyone with a share of power here. That includes Somali regional officials who are quick to praise American counterterrorism efforts, African Union forces who rely on U.S. intelligence as they battle back al-Shabab, and even the al Qaeda-linked militants themselves, who are increasingly hemmed in by a lethal combination of AU-led counterinsurgency, airstrikes, and raids by U.S. special operators,” the July 2 article claims . . .
Based out of a fortress of fading green Hesco barriers at the ramshackle airport in Kismayo, a team of special operators from the Joint Special Operations Command, the elite U.S. military organization famous for killing Osama bin Laden, flies drones and carries out other counterterrorism activities, multiple Somali government and African Union sources have confirmed.
(Read more from “Confirmed: Secret US Bases in Somalia, US Boots on the Ground” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-07-07 03:32:382016-04-11 10:59:13Confirmed: Secret US Bases in Somalia, US Boots on the Ground
By Lisa Abramowicz. Investors tend to respond to impending doom by selling risky stuff and hiding out in safer assets — namely, bonds in places such as Germany and the U.S.
There’s a problem with that formula this time around: Traders aren’t so sure they can find anything that’s truly safe right now. So, instead of piling into sovereign debt of developed nations, traders are pulling their money out of those places as the Greek economy teeters on the brink of collapse, Puerto Rico talks about delaying some debt payments and China’s stock market suffers its biggest selloff since 1992.
Investors yanked $2.9 billion from European government bond funds last week, more than ever before, and pulled $699 million from short-term investment-grade U.S. bond funds, Bank of America Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co. data show. While these assets have traditionally been havens during rocky periods, they look less appealing now after more than six years of unprecedented monetary stimulus that pushed yields to record lows.
Why is that a problem? Well, the European Central Bank’s bond-purchasing program this year sent yields so low (negative, in fact) that investors revolted, selling German debt in the face of some signs of economic growth and causing unprecedented volatility. In the U.S., the economy has improved enough that the Federal Reserve is planning to raise interest rates this year from virtually zero, where they’ve been since 2008 . . .
And nations and companies around the world have taken on unprecedented amounts of debt, all with the hope of igniting some growth, with the results being rather tepid. (Read more from “Good Luck Finding a Place to Hide as Global Markets Crumble” HERE)
By Bob Adelmann. In its just-released report “The 2015 Long-Term Budget Outlook,” the Congressional Budget Office stated bluntly:
The long-term outlook for the federal budget has worsened dramatically over the past several years, in the wake of the 2007-2009 recession and slow recovery…. If current law remained generally unchanged in the future … growing budget deficits … would push [the national] debt above its current high level.
It’s all about government spending that’s baked into the cake: the Baby Boomers retiring and asking the government to make good on its Social Security and Medicare promises and the rising costs of healthcare along with “an increasing number of recipients of exchange subsidies and Medicaid benefits attributable to the Affordable Care Act [which will] push up spending … if current laws … remain unchanged,” said the report.
The CBO created two avenues for politicians concerned about the matter to pursue: one, to keep the deficits from going any higher, and the other to bring them back down to historic levels. For the first, taxes would have to increase by $1,450 per person per year, starting immediately, or Social Security benefits would have to be cut by $2,400 per person per year, starting immediately . . .
The report considers the consequences of doing nothing: At some point investors in government bonds would become concerned about getting their money back and would demand higher interest rates to compensate for that risk. This would accelerate the deficits to new levels. As the report noted, “The larger the government’s debt, the greater the risk of a fiscal crisis.” (Read more from “US Financial Outlook Has “Worsened Dramatically”” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-07-07 03:32:122016-04-11 10:59:14Good Luck Finding a Place to Hide as Global Markets Crumble
At first, the most ambitious attempt ever to create a new multinational currency all seemed to go so well. The predicted problems with banks and vending machines never materialized. The euro surpassed the dollar in value. The launch was hailed as a success.
And yet for Greece, it seems now to have all fallen flat. How did it happen? . . .
2001: Greece became the 12th — and last — country to join the eurozone before the launch of the euro at the beginning of 2002 . . .
But even then, warnings were sounded. The president of the European Central Bank, Wim Duisenberg, warned that Greece had much to do in terms of improving its economy and controlling inflation . . .
2010: In 2009, international investors, understandably spooked by the revelation that Greece’s previously announced debt and deficit figures were inaccurate, became worried about the country’s ability to pay its debts. (Read more from “Greece: How Did It Get Into This Mess?” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-07-07 03:31:462016-04-11 10:59:15Greece: How Did It Get Into This Mess?
By Emma O’Brien and Benjamin Purvis. Greek voters’ rejection of austerity coursed through financial markets Monday, as Asian stocks and U.S. index futures slipped with the euro and crude oil amid flight to the safest assets. Chinese index futures jumped after the country stepped up efforts to arrest an equity selloff.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 1 percent by 10:10 a.m. in Tokyo, with Japanese and Korean gauges falling more than 1 percent. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures slid 1.2 percent. The euro was down 0.6 percent versus the dollar, paring an earlier drop of as much as 1.3 percent as high-yielding currencies declined while the yen advanced. Treasuries and Asian bonds jumped with credit risk. U.S. oil tumbled 3 percent. FTSE China A50 Index futures rallied 6.3 percent.
Greeks defied opinion polls predicting a tight race, with more than 60 percent voting to reject austerity measures required to win another bailout package. The result means Greece’s exit from the currency union is now the base-case scenario, JPMorgan Chase & Co. said, with European leaders calling for a summit. China suspended initial public offerings and brokerages pledged to buy shares in weekend measures aimed at halting the steepest plunge in local stocks since 1992.
“It’s definitely risk off, markets don’t like uncertainty,” Kumar Palghat, managing director of Kapstream Capital Ltd., which oversees the equivalent of about $6.9 billion in Sydney, said in a Bloomberg TV interview. “The question from the market is, is this going to continue or are they going to come up with a solution? China is more important to Asia than Greece is, but remember we live in a globalized world, so what happens in Greece affects other countries and other regions as well” . . .
With all of the vote counted, support for the “no” camp was at 61 percent, while 39 percent voted “yes” to the demands, according results on the Greek Interior Ministry website. A poll commissioned by Bloomberg had 43 percent voting “no” and 42.5 percent intending to accept creditors’ conditions. The survey had a three percentage-point margin of error. (Read more from “Greece ‘No’ Vote Hits Euro to U.S. Futures Amid Flight to Safety” HERE)
Sugar, Flour, Rice: Panicked Greeks Stock up on Essentials
By Pauline Froissart. Greeks were hoarding cash and food Saturday amid mounting fears the economy could collapse, cracking open their wallets only to stock up on essentials and stripping supermarket shelves in the process.
Mothers, elderly men and university students were spotted pushing heavily overloaded trolleys or coming out of shops weighed down by bags of food, with essentials such as sugar, flour and pasta top of the list.
In the well-off area of Glyfada in Athens residents appeared to have panicked, thrusting everything from vast rolls of toilet paper to multiple packs of lentils into their carts.
“Most people are buying food now because they fear the worst,” said Andreas Koutras, a 51-year old who works in finance, referring to a referendum Sunday on Greece’s bailout which could seal its financial fate.
AFP photographs showed rows upon rows of empty shelves in supermarkets and shoppers said they were taking no chances, snapping up canned milk, chocolate and rice — anything non-perishable that could be stored. (Read more from this story HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-07-06 03:08:572016-04-11 10:59:16Greece ‘No’ Vote Hits Euro to U.S. Futures Amid Flight to Safety
Militants in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula fired rockets into southern Israel on Friday in an incident that caused no casualties but appeared to be linked to fighting between Islamist insurgents and Egyptian security forces.
Islamic State’s Egypt affiliate, Sinai Province, said in a statement posted on Twitter by supporters that it had launched three Grad rockets toward “occupied Palestine”. Reuters could not immediately verify the authenticity of the statement.
An Israeli military source earlier said the rockets had been fired from Sinai, which borders Israel, the Gaza Strip and the Suez Canal.
Israeli police said they had so far found remnants of two rockets in an open area. No damage or casualties were reported.
It was possible the launch was linked to the fighting in Sinai, the military source said, where militants of the Sinai Province group launched their biggest assault in years against Egyptian security forces on Wednesday. (Read more from “Rockets Land in Israel, Egypt’s IS Affiliate Claims Responsibility” HERE)
By John Irish and Louis Charbonneau. A year and half of nuclear talks between Iran and major powers were creeping toward the finish line on Friday as negotiators wrestled with sticking points including questions about Tehran’s past atomic research.
Iran is in talks with the United States and five other powers – Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia – on an agreement to curtail its nuclear program in exchange for relief from economic sanctions.
“We are coming to the end,” said a senior Western diplomat, who added there was no plan to carry on for long past next Tuesday. “Either we get an agreement or we don’t.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said a deal was close.
“We are ready to strike a balanced and good deal and open new horizons to address important common challenges,” he said in a statement broadcast on YouTube, referring to the rise of Islamist militancy. (Read more from “Iran Nuclear Talks in Endgame, Negotiators Push on Sticking Points” HERE)
U.S. Stockpiles Powerful Bunker-Buster Bombs in Case Iran Nuclear Talks Fail
By W.J. Hennigan. As diplomats rush to reach an agreement to curb Iran’s nuclear program, the U.S. military is stockpiling conventional bombs so powerful that strategists say they could cripple Tehran’s most heavily fortified nuclear complexes, including one deep underground.
The bunker-busting bombs are America’s most destructive munitions short of atomic weapons. At 15 tons, each is 5 tons heavier than any other bomb in the U.S. arsenal.
In development for more than a decade, the latest iteration of the MOP — massive ordnance penetrator — was successfully tested on a deeply buried target this year at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The test followed upgrades to the bomb’s guidance system and electronics to stop jammers from sending it off course.
U.S. officials say the huge bombs, which have never been used in combat, are a crucial element in the White House deterrent strategy and contingency planning should diplomacy go awry and Iran seek to develop a nuclear bomb.
Obama has made it clear that he has no desire to order an attack, warning that U.S. airstrikes on Iran’s air defense network and nuclear facilities would spark a destabilizing new war in the Middle East, and would only delay Iran by several years should it choose to build a bomb. (Read more from this story HERE)
