China just tested the world’s most powerful naval gun, and US intelligence says it will be ready for warfare by 2025

Chinese sailors form an honor guard during a welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on September 6, 2012. (Mark Ralston | AFP | Getty Images)

 

• China tested the world’s most powerful naval gun earlier this month and it’s expected to enter China’s arsenal by 2025, according to sources with direct knowledge of a U.S. intelligence report.
• The warship-mounted electromagnetic railgun was first seen in 2011 and underwent testing in 2014.
• The Chinese are expected to complete at-sea testing by 2023.

WASHINGTON — China tested the world’s most powerful naval gun earlier this month, and it is expected to be ready for warfare by 2025, according to people with direct knowledge of a U.S. intelligence report.

America’s Social Depression Is Accelerating

It’s no question America is at a crossroads and could go the way of Rome. This why it’s noteworthy to point out that things turn violent towards the very end, which is what we see not only in America through demonstrations and the demonization of politicians at restaurants, etc…, but the growing thirst for blood sports such as UFC/MMA, as astutely observed in this article:

Does Society Turn More Violent During its End Times?

 

 

Beneath the rah-rah statistics of “the greatest economy ever,” the social depression is accelerating. The mainstream is reluctantly waking up to the future of the American Dream: downward mobility for all but the top 10% of households.

A 2015 Atlantic article fleshed out the zeitgeist with survey data that suggests the Great Middle Class/Nouveau Proletariat is also waking up to a future of downward mobility: The Downsizing of the American Dream.

People used to believe they would someday move on up in the world. Now they’re more concerned with just holding on to what they have.

Congratulations, Beijing. The South China Sea Is Now Yours.

Chinese sailors march in a massive military parade in Beijing. (GETTY IMAGES)

 

China’s dominance of this strategic sea gate is effectively complete.

As recently as July 2016, it looked as if conflict could erupt between the United States, China, and possibly some smaller Asian nations over Beijing’s belligerent drive to transform the South China Sea into a “Chinese lake.” That month, the already fraught situation became far more volatile when the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague ruled against some of China’s territorial claims in the area, after which China vowed to use “all necessary measures” to safeguard its control of the region.

But now, despite the Trump administration’s decision on May 24 to conduct a naval action in the region, it is clear that China has emerged from this dispute victorious. The South China Sea—the vast, resource-rich region through which a third of global maritime commerce flows—is now the de facto territory of Beijing.

“It is, unfortunately, now game over,” said Mira Rapp-Hooper, a senior fellow at the Washington D.C.-based Center for a New American Security.

This “unfortunate” turn of the tides reveals America’s fading influence, China’s rising power (and increasing shrewdness about how to effectively use that power), and that the smaller Asian states are pragmatic and circumspect about these shifts.

Philippines’ Duterte Tells U.S. to ‘Forget’ About Defense Deal ‘if I Stay Longer’ Before Japan Visit

Everything Duterte says is double-talk. However, one thing is clear: He is 100% anti-American. You can tell a tree by the fruit it produces and his actions are speaking louder than his two personalities. The United States has lost a major ally in Asia and one can’t help but wonder how long it will be before Japan jumps ship. This is a huge tectonic shift in Asia and will have global repercussions as it strengthens China and Russia.

As it’s been said here many times, with an America suiciding itself into the history books and becoming increasingly unreliable, many allies would rather join a China-lead bloc and umbrella protectorate than go to war against it and lose. The Philippines won’t be the first, or last, to bail out.

 

MANILA/TOKYO (Reuters)–Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte lashed out anew at the United States on Tuesday and said it could forget a bilateral defense deal if he stayed in power long enough, in the latest jarring statement from Manila about the future of the alliance.

The fresh broadside from Duterte came as he was about to board a plane for an official visit to fellow U.S. ally Japan, a big investor in the Philippines that is becoming nervous about its apparent pivot towards rival power China.

All hail Xi, China’s third ‘core’ leader

China’s President Xi Jinping is about to be endorsed as the Communist Party’s “core” leader. Photo: Reuters/Marko Djurica

 

Chinese president to be put on a par with former paramount leaders Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping whose authority must not be challenged

President Xi Jinping is likely to be formally endorsed as the “core” leader of the Communist Party of China (CPC) at the four-day 6th Plenum of the party’s decision-making Central Committee starting on Monday.

This will put him on a par with former paramount leaders Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping whose authority is firmly established and must not be questioned let alone challenged.

PLA unveils new weapons for air and sea combat following Hague tribunal ruling

Military vehicles carry DF-16 ballistic missiles in Tiananmen Square last September. Photo: Imaginechina

 

 

Rare disclosure of arsenal seen as warning to US not to provoke military confrontation

The Southern Theatre Command of the People’s Liberation Army unveiled a series of new weapons for sea and air combat during a visit by top military officers.

In a rare revelation, the weapons were shown on state television in the wake of a landmark international tribunal rejecting Beijing’s claims to almost all of the South China Sea.

Military experts said the disclosure was intended to show that the newly formed Southern Theatre Command, which covers the South China Sea, was well-prepared for any potential military confrontation with the US.

Iran boasts it has developed 12 new nuclear products

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks with media at the Saadabad Palace in Tehran, Iran, February 27, 2016. (AP/Ebrahim Noroozi)

 

In a ceremony to mark Iran’s National Day of Nuclear Technology, the Islamic Republic on Thursday announced the unveiling of twelve new, self-developed nuclear products in several different fields, ranging from fuel and laser technology to power plants and reactors.

Among the products unveiled at the ceremony, which was attended by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, were new centrifuge systems and fuel rod complexes for testing reactors, according to the Iranian Fars news.

America the Weak

The intent of this essay is to advance several observations about how we plan and fight wars, in order to shed light upon why we are performing so poorly. We invaded both Afghanistan and Iraq with inchoate plans and inadequate forces to establish post-war security and governance. After winning the first battle in both countries, President George W. Bush offhandedly decided to build democratic nations, a task for which our State Department and US Agency for International Development had no competence or interest. By default, the mission fell to our military, also without competence but with unflagging devotion and determination.

…

When 2011 arrived, President Barack Obama went against the recommendations of the intelligence community, the Pentagon, and the State Department. Instead of politically maneuvering to keep a residual force to check al-Maliki’s dark instincts, Obama pulled out all our troops. He fulfilled Bush’s foolish promise. Al-Maliki then proceeded to oppress the Sunnis, leading to the reemergence of the extremists now called the Islamic State. Obama quit, but Bush made it easy for him to do so.

Nuclear Expert in Japan: Plutonium “is everywhere… it is everywhere” after Fukushima reactors exploded — It’s being redeposited in “unanticipated” locations — “Black radioactive dust just wherever you go” — “It’s running right into Pacific Ocean” (VIDEO)

 

 

Excerpts from interview with Arnie Gundersen, Fairewinds’ chief engineer and former nuclear engineer during speaking tour in Japan, Feb 17, 2016 (at 2:30 in):

 

China’s military closing technology gap with the US, says American air force chief

As mentioned oft enough, America’s intelligence community turned un-intelligent community is usually now behind the curve. They’re constantly ‘surprised’ by these ‘unexpected developments’. Having said this, China is likely on par or beyond American technological capability. Why show off all the goods and expose the element of surprise?

 

China’s military is closing the technology gap with the United States, although the experience of America’s pilots still gives them an “unbelievably huge” edge, according to the Pacific Air Forces chief.

General Lori Robinson, in Singapore to attend the country’s air show, said she felt assured that Chinese pilots would act professionally in interactions with the US, citing a September agreement on rules of behaviour.

Major Powers and their Wars (II)

BERLIN (Own report) – In an article published by the leading German foreign policy journal, an influential diplomat predicts that worldwide, there will be a further increase in the number of wars and their victims, this year. “The number of conflicts, their victims, and their refugees” has been increasing worldwide, for the past five years and this development will “most likely continue this year.” The journal, “Internationale Politik,” substantiates this assumption by presenting an overview of the current wars. Today’s deadliest wars – in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Afghanistan, and South Sudan – are indeed a direct or indirect outcome of western hegemonic policies. With its military interventions or subversive support for insurgents, this policy is aimed at provoking pro-western putsches or weakening non-compliant states. “Internationale Politik” assesses the possibility of conflicts in China’s vicinity. During the years of China’s rise, western powers were unsuccessful in knitting strong ties with the resource-rich Arab world, in view of the impending power struggle with the People’s Republic of China. This power struggle is already emerging.

Egypt and Libya to Join Iran’s Terror Network

From 2011 with relevancy for today:

 

The West still doesn’t understand how Iran rules the Middle East.

Iran, the number one state sponsor of terrorism by far, has bludgeoned its way into controlling Lebanon and Gaza, and has become the backbone of Syrian terrorism. Iran also bombed and butchered its way into the dominant role in Iraq and Afghanistan (after America thought it had won those wars), and now is empowering the Muslim Brotherhood terrorists to get control of Egypt.

Now America and the West have paved the way for another Iranian victory in Libya. We are rejoicing about the overthrow of Libya’s Muammar Qadhafi, while we should be mourning. Libyan chaos is now the ideal setting for Iran to bring that nation into its deadly terrorist web. The government that replaces Qadhafi will be a thousand times worse.

And you can prove this is going to happen! (More on that later.)

Half of American households can barely save a nickel

Please see the source link for the video.

 

Brother, can you spare a nickel?

For roughly half of American households they answer is “barely,” according to the results of a new survey by Bankrate.com. About half reported they are setting aside no more than 5 percent of their income in savings. One in five said they’re not even able to save a penny.

The highest savings rates were reported by those in the middle of the income ladder; more than a third of households earnings between $50,000 – 75,000 said they’re saving more than 10 percent of their incomes, a higher rate than those in the highest-income bracket.

After Saudi Arabia Crushes The US Shale Industry, This Is Who It Will Go After Next

Whether it is to cripple the will of Putin and end his support of the Syria regime (thus handing the much desired gas-pipeline traversing territory over to Qatari and/or Saudi interests), a hypothesis first presented here in September and subsequently validated by the NYT, or much more simply, just to destroy any and all marginal producers so that Saudi Arabia is once again the world’s most important and price-setting producer and exporter of oil, one thing is clear: the Saudis will not relent from pumping more oil into the market than there is (declining) demand for, until its biggest threat and competitor – the US shale patch – which recently had become the marginal oil producer, as well as its investors – mostly junk bond holders gambling with other people’s money – are crushed, driven before the Saudi royal family, and the lamentation of their women is heard across the globe.

That much is known.