January 10, 2014

Senators propose giving Obama ‘fast-track authority’ for trade deals

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/01/09/senators-propose-giving-obama-fast-track-authority-for-trade-deals/



Senators propose giving Obama ‘fast-track authority’ for trade deals
By Agence France-Presse
Thursday, January 9, 2014 17:51 EST

Lawmakers on Thursday proposed empowering US trade negotiators to push ahead major deals with Pacific Rim and European Union nations, but the move faces stiff opposition.

Three key lawmakers on trade policy introduced a bill to give President Barack Obama “fast-track authority,” which would allow his team to negotiate agreements that Congress could approve or reject — without making changes.

Supporters said the four-year extension of the powers, which last ended in 2007, is indispensable to speeding up trade negotiations.

The Obama administration has put a high priority on the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, seeing it as tying the United States more firmly to the dynamic Asia-Pacific region.

January 10, 2014

Australian PM compares fight against ‘people-smugglers’ to war

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/01/09/australian-pm-compares-fight-against-people-smugglers-to-war/



Australian PM compares fight against ‘people-smugglers’ to war
By Agence France-Presse
Thursday, January 9, 2014 21:50 EST

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Friday likened the fight against people-smugglers to war, while defending the detention centres asylum-seekers are held in as effective and humanely run.

Indonesian officials say the Australian navy has turned back at least one boat carrying asylum-seekers to its shores, although The Australian newspaper said as many as five have been secretly returned.

Abbott’s conservative government has refused to reveal details of the incidents or other “operational matters”, sparking claims from the Labor opposition that it is overseeing a “Stalinist”-style media blackout.

“In the end, we are in a fierce contest with these people-smugglers,” he told a breakfast television programme.



unhappycamper comment: I'm under the impression that Tony Abbott is a douchebag similar to dick or dubya or Louie The Amazing Douche.. Do we have any Aussie DUers around to confirm that impression?

January 10, 2014

Louie Gohmert: I became a congressman to stop single moms from getting welfare checks

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/01/09/louie-gohmert-i-became-a-congressman-to-stop-single-moms-from-getting-welfare-checks/



R-douchebag

Louie Gohmert: I became a congressman to stop single moms from getting welfare checks
By David Edwards
Thursday, January 9, 2014 11:12 EST

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) revealed on Thursday that he had become a congressman because he was outraged that single women were having as many as 15 babies and getting welfare checks.

“If it weren’t for the policies in this War on Poverty declared 50 years ago, it may well be that I would not have ever run for Congress,” Gohmert said during a Wednesday night speech on the House floor. “Because what got me thinking about it first as a state district judge back in Texas was seeing more and more young women, single women coming before me — single moms — charged with welfare fraud.”

The Texas Republican said that women discovered that “the government will send you a check for every baby you have out of wedlock.”

“One women had had 15 kids, didn’t even know where they all were, that was the most that I ever dealt with,” Gohmert explained. “It began to really eat away with me that in the 60s the federal government, desiring to help poor moms who were dealing with deadbeat dads, decided, ‘We’ll help, we’ll give a check for every child you can have out of wedlock.’”


--

Teh stoopid is strong with this one......

January 9, 2014

Exclusive: U.S. waived laws to keep F-35 on track with China-made parts

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/03/us-lockheed-f-idUSBREA020VA20140103



Exclusive: U.S. waived laws to keep F-35 on track with China-made parts
By John Shiffman and Andrea Shalal-Esa
WASHINGTON Fri Jan 3, 2014 3:45pm EST

(Reuters) - The Pentagon repeatedly waived laws banning Chinese-built components on U.S. weapons in order to keep the $392 billion Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter program on track in 2012 and 2013, even as U.S. officials were voicing concern about China's espionage and military buildup.

According to Pentagon documents reviewed by Reuters, chief U.S. arms buyer Frank Kendall allowed two F-35 suppliers, Northrop Grumman Corp and Honeywell International Inc, to use Chinese magnets for the new warplane's radar system, landing gears and other hardware. Without the waivers, both companies could have faced sanctions for violating federal law and the F-35 program could have faced further delays.

"It was a pretty big deal and an unusual situation because there's a prohibition on doing defense work in China, even if it's inadvertent," said Frank Kenlon, who recently retired as a senior Pentagon procurement official and now teaches at American University. "I'd never seen this happen before."

The Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, is examining three such cases involving the F-35, the U.S. military's next generation fighter, the documents show.

January 9, 2014

Economic Health: Has Greece Turned a Corner?

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/reforming-greece-takes-over-eu-council-presidency-a-942097.html



Greece, which took over the European Council presidency on Jan. 1, claims it is returning to economic health and is even expecting modest growth this year. But a closer look raises doubts.

Economic Health: Has Greece Turned a Corner?
By Christoph Pauly, Gregor Peter Schmitz and Christoph Schult
January 08, 2014 – 11:35 AM

Perhaps it is just a meaningless detail resulting from the inauguration of a new government in Berlin. Hans-Joachim Fuchtel, the Berlin official in charge of aid to Greece, has been moved to a new office in the Development Ministry -- just down the hall from offices dedicated to Pakistan and Afghanistan.

A mere coincidence? Is Greece -- a full member of the European Union and of the euro zone -- a developing country?

Certainly not, but as of Jan. 1, the location of Fuchtel's new quarters seems even more unfortunate. At the beginning of the year, Greece took over the rotating European Council presidency, meaning that it has taken the helm of the 28-member EU for the next six months. Europe is now being led by a country that in the spring of 2010 plunged the European currency union into the deepest crisis in its history, a country that has been saved from collapse by two gigantic aid packages and a debt haircut for private creditors. Many in Brussels believe that Athens will need an additional €1.5 to 2 billion ($2 to 2.7 billion) this year and perhaps as much as €10 billion in 2015.

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has pledged that Greece's leadership will mark a presidency of "hope" -- a word he applies to his own country, which, he says, brings a "positive balance" into the six-month position of prestige. But it has often been the case that good news from Greece is coupled with the next set of demands -- such as the current request for a renewed debt reduction. Such a move would hit European taxpayers hard, particularly those in Germany.

January 9, 2014

Brand Expansion: China's Race to Conquer World Markets

http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/chinese-brands-expanding-into-world-markets-a-942094.html



Chinese firms have embarked on a quest to conquer the world market. Several have already done so, with the help of Western know-how. Established rivals are making the mistake of underestimating them -- until it's too late.

Brand Expansion: China's Race to Conquer World Markets
By Wieland Wagner
January 08, 2014 – 04:38 PM

The name Haier, a leading Chinese brand for household goods, originates from Liebherr, the German company that set up a joint venture with a Chinese company almost three decades ago. Liebherr taught its partner to build modern fridges. It needed to, because 20 percent of the Chinese manufacturer's output at the time was faulty.

Haier boss Zhang Ruimin started out by handing his surprised workers sledgehammers to destroy all the malfunctioning fridges they had made. The shock therapy worked. The state-owned business started to expand its market share in China, where it acquired many smaller competitors. Then it went international, and now it has an 8 percent share of the world market for household appliances.

The Chinese brand (its advertising slogan is "Haier and Higher&quot is well established in Germany as well. The group has a research center in Nuremberg that develops dishwashers for the European market. It bought a fridge factory from Meneghetti in Italy and is building a plant in Poland -- due to go into operation in June -- in cooperation with a partner. Haier has achieved what many companies from emerging economies aim to do: The company from the eastern Chinese city of Qingdao has established itself as a global consumer brand. It has become a serious competitor for Western companies, even in their home markets.

"If a country has no global brand, it can't be on top," says Haier boss Zhang, inspiring other Chinese CEOs to follow his example.

January 9, 2014

Disaster Centennial: The Disturbing Relevance of World War I

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/world-war-i-continues-to-have-relevance-100-years-later-a-941523.html



It has now been 100 years since the outbreak of World War I, but the European catastrophe remains relevant today. As the Continent looks back this year, old wounds could once again be rubbed raw.

Disaster Centennial: The Disturbing Relevance of World War I
By Klaus Wiegrefe
January 08, 2014 – 03:36 PM

~snip~

More than 60 million soldiers from five continents participated in that orgy of violence. Almost one in six men died, and millions returned home with injuries or missing body parts -- noses, jaws, arms. Countries like France, Belgium and the United Kingdom are planning international memorial events, wreath-laying ceremonies, concerts and exhibits, as are faraway nations like New Zealand and Australia, which formed their identities during the war.

Poles, citizens of the Baltic countries, Czechs and Slovaks will also commemorate the years between 1914 and 1918, because they emerged as sovereign nations from the murderous conflict between the Entente and the Central Powers.

In the coming months, World War I will become a mega issue in the public culture of commemoration. The international book market will present about 150 titles in Germany alone, and twice as many in France -- probably a world record for a historic subject. The story of a generation that has long passed on will be retold. New questions will be asked and new debates will unfold. British Prime Minister David Cameron is even making funds available to enable all children attending Britain's government-run schools to visit the battlefields of the Western Front.

A response of this nature would be unthinkable in pacifist Germany.

January 9, 2014

A Brother's Vengeance: The Preacher Who Could Topple Erdogan

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/turkey-erdogan-sees-power-threatened-by-muslim-cleric-guelen-a-942296.html



The greatest threat yet to Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan comes from a former ally. Muslim preacher Fethullah Gülen and his influential followers seem determined to accomplish what the recent protest movement could not: overthrowing the current regime.

A Brother's Vengeance: The Preacher Who Could Topple Erdogan
By Maximilian Popp
January 09, 2014 – 12:36 PM

Turgut Keles loved his premier. He maintained his support of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan through early summer, when demonstrators in Istanbul were protesting the redevelopment of Gezi Park. When Erdogan held a rally for tens of thousands of supporters, Keles was in the first row.

But just half a year later, everything has changed. "Erdogan must go," the former fan now says, adding that the prime minister has "betrayed" millions of Turks. Keles long voted in favor of Erdogan's conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP). But his support of the party is exceeded by his admiration of Muslim preacher Fethullah Gülen, the leader of a powerful civic movement that is now at odds with Erdogan.

Keles attended a school founded by Gülen followers, and later studied at one of the movement's universities. The organization helped him find a job, he says. Today, Keles works for a construction company in Istanbul and remains a devoted follower. "Anyone who insults Gülen, insults me," he says.

For a long time, Gülen and Erdogan were allies. This fall, however, the prime minister announced that tutoring centers run by the Gülen movement would be shut down. Erdogan has accused the preacher's supporters of creating a "state within a state," and since then the two sides have been locked in a bitter power struggle. The conflict appears to confirm what many once dismissed as a conspiracy theory -- that in many cases the Gülen movement controls the police and justice system.

January 9, 2014

Super Subs: The German Defense Industry Discovers Asia

http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/germany-s-defense-industry-turns-to-asia-for-business-a-942287.html



The German defense industry is increasingly looking to Asia as a growing market for its products. Conflicts in the Far East have led to a demand for the kind of giant -- and expensive -- submarines that come from shipyards in northern Germany.

Super Subs: The German Defense Industry Discovers Asia
By Otfried Nassauer and Gordon Repinski
January 07, 2014 – 04:46 PM

The special fascination of ThyssenKrupp's new Type 218SG submarine is not immidiately apparent. It only becomes clear at the sight of the delicate, detailed engineering at its stern. That's where the "air independent propulsion system" is installed, connected directly with a gearless Permasyn motor. Built to glide through the sea almost noiselessly, the submarine is quieter and more durable than any other conventional model.

With fuel-cell drive and lithium-ion batteries, such a submarine can stay deployed at sea for more than 80 days and spend four weeks at a time under the surface.

These are ideal capabilities for a war machine built to function in the depths of seemingly endless waters, over routes that can be navigated without interruption for longer than ever before. It is a design suitable for the largest of all oceans: the Pacific.

At the end of November, Singapore, an authoritarian city-state on the edge of the crisis regions of the West Pacific, ordered the first two Type 218SG submarines to be released by German firm ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS). The custom-designed machines are to be delivered to the Singapore Navy by 2020. The deal cost the country €1.6 billion ($2.18 billion), which will go directly into the German economy.



unhappycamper comment: $2.18 billion dollars for a new sub? Why does the United States spend around $7 billion dollars for a Virginia-class sub? The answer in three little letters: M-I-C.

January 9, 2014

Fallujah: Obama’s Newest Headache

http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2014/01/09/fallujah-obama-newest-headache.html

Fallujah: Obama’s Newest Headache
Melkulangara BHADRAKUMAR | 09.01.2014 | 00:00

Guernica in the Spanish civil war, My Lai in the Vietnam War, Guantanamo Bay in the war on terror – these have been powerful symbols. The siege of Fallujah in May 2004 stands out in the Iraq War as the bloodiest battle that the United States fought since the Vietnam War. The US Marines suffered 40 deaths in the siege, while Iraqi civilian casualties were in the hundreds. The US forces reportedly used F-16 warplanes to blitz residential areas in Fallujah with cluster bombs. The majority of prisoners were executed…

As the US Marine Corps announced a ceasefire and withdrew in May 2004, mosques proclaimed the victory of insurgents and Fallujah’s transformation began as a sort of Islamic mini-state with Sharia law. So, in the fall of that year, in late October, the US military returned with another major offensive with aerial attacks and precision-guided missiles followed by a full-blooded assault by the Marines backed by artillery and armor in early November – Operation Phantom Fury.

This is how CNN’s Karl Penhaul reported on November 9: «The sky over Fallujah seems to explode as U.S. Marines launch their much-trumpeted ground assault. War planes drop cluster bombs on insurgent positions and artillery batteries fire smoke rounds to conceal a Marine advance». According to Washington Post, white phosphorous grenades and artillery shells were used to create «walls of fire» in the city. Doctors later reported seeing melted corpses. No one knows the casualty figures; as of November 18 US military claimed 1200 ‘insurgents’ had been killed and 1000 captured…

A Guardian report said over 70 percent of the city’s homes were destroyed along with sixty schools and sixty-five mosques and shrines. There has been anecdotal evidence of large increases in cancer, infant mortality, etc. among the survivors, triggering speculation that there was use of depleted uranium leading to environmental contamination.