Binh Nguyen's Blog: Challenges to the US Empire, International News Sites, and More

- ideological issues. Clear that throughout many parts of the world there is a rise in alternative narratives/visions for the future. Clear that some countries are looking at the current socio-economic model skeptically
Ceta talks: Last-ditch bid to save EU-Canada trade deal
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-37735968
http://www.dw.com/en/belgium-not-in-a-position-to-sign-ceta-says-prime-minister/a-36133113
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secularism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Enlightenment
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_church_and_state_in_the_United_States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La%C3%AFcit%C3%A9
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_and_secularism
- long memories of other nations and individuals. Didn't realise that there are often not well known background issues to international politics?
Duterte in China - Will the Philippines pivot away from Washington (part 1)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kb7FoJT79Sc
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/744941/duterte-names-jesuit-priest-abuser
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/744824/duterte-names-priest-who-allegedly-molested-him-as-teen
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/10/26/national/politics-diplomacy/duterte-vows-not-abandon-japan-security-matters-philippine-china-ties-grow-cozy/
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2016/10/24/commentary/world-commentary/guess-duterte-america-doesnt-need/#.WBFY_DHLd4Y
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodrigo_Duterte
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/10/philippines-duterte-troops-years-161026153754948.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/10/26/is-there-value-in-valdai/?utm_term=.5bd1aae0a214
https://www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/press-releases/215-press-releases-2016/1423-joint-dhs-odni-election-security-statement
https://www.rt.com/op-edge/365545-madeleine-albright-clinton-neocon/
https://www.rt.com/news/365485-russia-syria-national-security/
- financialisation of US/Western economies. It helps to maintain an artificially strong currency but it's clear that opportunities are drying up which means that debt builds up but growth doesn't necessarily do so as well?
Keiser Report - Clinton 2.0 (E984)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwQf9H2z8eo
http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capital/hillary-clinton-wall-street-financial-industry-may-control-retirement-savings?google_editors_picks=true
- consolidation of US/Western economies which ultimately means that they are becoming less competitive over time. Think about the US military/intelligence industrial complex. There are people who are saying it's basically too big to fail (if the 'peaceniks' honestly want to help find another way for them to make money if they are honestly that heavily dependent upon defense spending for their economy to keep going)? Clearly, if there are others who can basically the undercut the US in the area the US will be in huge financial trouble (though it's clear that there aren't too many who want to step entirely into the breach or have the capability to do so. It will have to be a coalition of sorts)?
https://www.rt.com/news/365290-china-export-drone-reaper-rival/
Keiser Report - 'Chattel' on Corporate Balance Sheets (E988)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63WBCaqUiCo
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Shorrock
http://timshorrock.com/
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2005/01/spy-who-billed-me
http://standupfortruth.org/whistleblower-and-supporter-bios

The Never-Ending Wars of the United States of America

http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1479748562.php
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korea
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States
- disconnect between political class and the general population (I guess this is a problem that all states have not just the US though)
http://www.dw.com/en/david-petraeus-the-washington-elite-have-lost-touch-with-a-lot-of-america/a-36415543
- I've never been certain of the link between economic growth and involvement in (cold or hot) wars. There are some 'challenges' that must be faced in order to sustain this particular method of growth (if is really the case). For instance, defense (once you factored in what you need versus what is superfluous to protect your country) as an industry isn't really that efficient. Once upon a time it could put a lot of people to work but with the advent of automation, robots, drones, etc... it means that per unit GDP a lot less people are employed. Moreover, the profit margins aren't that much different from other industries with the equipment having limited use in the meantime?
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/united-states/gdp-growth-annual
http://americanhistory.about.com/od/militaryhistory/fl/American-Involvement-in-Wars-from-Colonial-Times-to-the-Present.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_United_States_military_operations
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/commodity/crude-oil
https://www.rt.com/op-edge/368001-rt-western-dissidents-corporations/
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/11/15/493779/US-NATO-Russia-Daesh-Jatras
http://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/militarys-boy-toys-arent-worth-200-billion-a-year-20161027-gscj8m.html
[119] Proof Big Banks Knew 2008 Crisis Was Coming, War Is For Corporate Gains & More
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2CcK8cRaVc
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-16/pyne-flags-immense-opportunities-if-trump-expands-us-military/8029466
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/united-states/gdp-growth
http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/12/07/a-rare-bit-of-good-news-for-lockheed-martins-f-35.aspx
http://fpif.org/warfare_vs_welfare_subsidies_to_weapons_exporters/
http://www.nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/americas-new-super-lethal-stealth-bomber-it-affordable-14231
https://www.rt.com/business/364138-nord-stream-opal-russia-eu/
https://www.rt.com/business/357176-nord-stream2-biden-us-russia/
https://www.rt.com/uk/364139-tanks-drones-estonia-nato/
https://www.rt.com/usa/364230-pentagon-failed-acquisitions-costs/
https://www.rt.com/news/364236-russian-aircraft-carrier-spanish-port/
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-10-29/us-navy-screwing-taxpayers-and-defense-innovators
https://lobelog.com/the-impact-of-money-in-politics-on-national-security/
http://www.smh.com.au/world/philippine-leader-rodrigo-duterte-says-honouring-defence-pacts-with-friends-us-20161110-gsmwzq.html
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/11/01/491683/Iran-US-IRGC-Hossein-Salami
https://sputniknews.com/politics/201611031047021373-us-empire-clinton-trump/
- management of size and complexity of US empire. It's obvious that the US is basically attempting to achieve regulatory homogenity. It would effectively lead to a superstate and possibly even a one world government one day. Not everyone's on board though and there are a lot of difficulties that need to be sought through before anything remotely like that can be achieved. There is one huge bonus to it. One single point source for all problems (even if it mightn't be able to provide the best solutions at all times)?
'Putin divides Europe'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uc-7qmEtFTQ
Larry King - Clinton is not a criminal & Trump is really not a buffoon, I know them for years
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W-EAEudmwQ
RAW - Obama welcomes president-elect Trump at White House
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gF4C1287EJw
EU leaders rollback anti-Trump righteousness
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQaC47c4X4k
President-Elect Trump - Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rSDUsMwakI
Donald Trump's first 60 min. Interview_ Trump Tower Now A Fortress 11-11-16
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z73H5urfx-c
RT's Peter Lavelle interviews Dr. Ron Paul

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWrVJHtejkQ
Keiser Report - Future Made In China (E41)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_empires
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_empires
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperialism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_imperialism
- the only way the US stays up economically is if someone is capable and is willing to take a hit for them (the US/West didn't get to where they are by being nice which means it's less likely that others will be less likely and able to co-operate if their Empire falls? Note that the following information is completely irrelevant to the state of affairs as it looks like the US may not have anywhere to go? I can't see China or India sacrificing themselves like Japan did with the Plaza Accord due to historical issues with the US/West)? MMT theory says that you can print forever. In reality, the bank is core to capitalism. That and it's proxies (such as bankers, employers, etc...) act as arbiters for who gets money. Money is a theoretical concept that detemines cardinal and ordinal value of people and objects within society. Crashes correspond to moments when those at the top have extracted too much from the bottom which leads to a crash. The advent of behavioural economics and increased computerisation and automation of financial markets means that this is less likely to occur in a capitalist society even if they can see danger approaching. The bottom will simply have to suffer via homesless, poverty, bad healthcare, etc... unless there is a genuine movement to try and fix this issue?
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2016/02/a-new-cold-war-economic-crisis-and-more.html
https://sputniknews.com/business/202006171079642198-veteran-us-economist-predicts-dollars-crash/
https://tradingeconomics.com/japan/interest-rate
https://tradingeconomics.com/japan/gdp
https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/interest-rate
https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/gdp
https://tradingeconomics.com/euro-area/interest-rate
https://tradingeconomics.com/euro-area/gdp
https://tradingeconomics.com/india/gdp
https://tradingeconomics.com/india/interest-rate
https://tradingeconomics.com/china/gdp
https://tradingeconomics.com/china/interest-rate
https://tradingeconomics.com/
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/06/19/627805/China-US-ties-Trump
https://www.dw.com/en/do-we-need-to-work-less-to-save-the-world/a-53742751
european union central bank interest rate
https://www.ecb.europa.eu/stats/policy_and_exchange_rates/key_ecb_interest_rates/html/index.en.html
plaza accord
The Plaza Accord was a joint-agreement, signed on 22 September 1985, at the Plaza Hotel in New York City, between France, West Germany, Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom, to depreciate the U.S. dollar in relation to the Japanese yen and German Deutsche mark by intervening in currency markets.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plaza_Accord
gold standard united states
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_standard#Abandonment_of_the_gold_standard
In addition to its cultural definition this process can be described as the transformation of an economy into one that follows the steps of Japan. In other words, it is a term used by economists that refers to falling into the same deflationary trap of collapsed demand that caused the lost decade. Japanification is an ongoing issue today as the U.S., U.K., and other countries go through similar economic issues.[7]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanification
The Lost Decade or the Lost 10 Years (失われた十年, Ushinawareta Jūnen) was a period of economic stagnation in Japan from about 1991 to 2001, caused by the Japanese asset price bubble's collapse in late 1991. From 1991 to 2003, the Japanese economy, as measured by GDP, grew only 1.14% annually, well below that of other industrialized nations.[1]
The term originally referred to the years from 1991 to 2000,[2] but recently the decade from 2001 to 2010 is often included so that the whole period is referred to as the Lost Score or the Lost 20 Years (失われた二十年, Ushinawareta Nijūnen).[3] Broadly impacting the entire Japanese economy, over the period of 1995 to 2007, GDP fell from $5.33 trillion to $4.36 trillion in nominal terms,[4] real wages fell around 5%,[5] while the country experienced a stagnant price level.[6] While there is some debate on the extent and measurement of Japan's setbacks,[7][8] the economic effect of the Lost Decade is well established, and Japanese policymakers continue to grapple with its consequences.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Decade_(Japan)
empire files youtube
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=empire+files
Empire Files
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG29FnXZm4F5U8xpqs1cs1Q/videos
The Empire Files with Abby Martin
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNAlnQ4hvLtTAJcIEcfvfHbMv2omP_rHC
https://www.youtube.com/user/telesurenglish/playlists
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=the+world+today+tariq+ali
The World Today with Tariq Ali
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2jL6qpuYAcQKCjRrmGDD2rVE0szr_qVE
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=on+contact+rt
On Contact with Chris Hedges
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLagVUKF7CUTRiG64CklL1AN0mbmNaETfp
- whether you believe in US leadership or not it's awkward. It's like having a awkward best friend. You both need one another but from time to time there are going to be problems
- overall, the US economy is going everywhere and nowhere (which is probably the reason why the media commentary is all scrambled as well). The strange thing for me is that it seems as though half is going well and half isn't. On top of that there are a heap of people that are hedging against a possible implosion of the US economy. This would be funny if it didn't feel so serious. A lot of the data just don't make sense (when you try to match things up)? The huge irony is that despite the fact that things shouldn't appear so rosy they are (and if you look around quite a lot of other financial analysts have noticed the exact same thing). As long as alchemy-economics works who cares right?
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/united-states/indicators
https://www.corbettreport.com/war-with-china-what-hillary-told-goldman/
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-10-19/sterling-stumbles-report-merkel-said-shut-brexit-back-door-channels
http://www.benzinga.com/news/16/11/8653903/a-look-at-the-unemployment-rate-since-obama-took-office
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-11-06/yellens-conundrum-forestall-monetary-mayhem-or-release-political-pandemonium
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-11-23/putin-buys-dip-russias-gold-buying-october-largest-millenium
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-11-10/dow-hits-all-time-high
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-11-10/bond-bloodbath-continues-soaring-inflation-expectations-spark-curve-carnage-yuan-plu
http://russia-insider.com/en/business/russian-ruble-becoming-super-carry-currency/ri17442
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-11-23/china-press-lashes-out-its-dollar-not-yuan-threatens-global-stability
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-11-10/last-time-market-did-it-didnt-end-well
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-11-09/how-did-media-pollsters-get-election-so-wrong

If you watch enough international news channels you'll realise that the world isn't how it appears. It's how it appears based on the perspective that you see. With that in mind, what you want to see is often how things will ultimately appear. The following is a list of international news sites for those who are interested. They often specialise in in depth analysis of world affairs (more will be added to this list over time) and covers pretty much most of the globe from a wide range of perspectives:

A list of international news websites:

http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2013/02/news-websites.html

Random Quotes:

Jeffrey Gundlach, CEO of DoubleLine Capital, told RealVisionTV: “It’s pretty clear investors will be on edge with the next down move in Deutsche Bank … I said when Deutsche Bank goes to single digits, that’s when the panic will really be palpable.”

“When Bank of America went to single digits back at the end of 2008 and early 2009 … then they said, we really do have to do something. There’s something about single-digit stocks that sound like the pink sheets. You’re not really an investment-quality entity anymore if you’re trading for pennies on the dollar.”

The pink sheets are lists of stocks traded over the counter that often do not meet minimum requirements or file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Middleton thinks a stealth bailout through the European Central Bank (ECB) has already begun, but not without some unpleasant consequences.

“Think of trying to save somebody from drowning by picking them up from the water by their throat, so you get them out of the water so they don’t drown immediately. But you suffocate them over time because they can’t breathe, and that’s what’s happening with European banks,” he said.
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/2151527-is-deutsche-bank-the-next-lehman-brothers/

- European leaders will meet in Bratislava next Friday at an informal summit intended to map a new path for the EU in the wake of Britain’s vote to leave. Yet while the unwelcome outcome of June’s referendum was a trigger for the talks, this review, or re-evaluation, of the European project is long overdue. Modern-day Europe faces enormous challenges not remotely envisaged by the EU’s founding fathers when they signed the Treaty of Rome 60 years ago next year. A new consensus on how to address these shared problems, in principle and in practice, is urgently needed as the treaty anniversary approaches.

Britain, unfortunately, will have little or no say over what happens next. Theresa May is not invited to Bratislava. The summit will take place without her. The government is not being asked for it views on the crucial issues confronting Europe and, if it chooses to air them, it is increasingly likely, as time goes by, that it will be ignored. The EU wants only one thing from Britain right now, as Donald Tusk, the European council president, reminded May last week: a firm date for starting exit negotiations. And this, unfortunately again, May is unwilling or unable to give them. To pretend the outcome of Bratislava and ensuing discussions will not have a big impact on British interests is to perpetuate the wilful blindness that led to the calamitous Brexit vote. A major struggle, years in the making, is coming to a head. It pits the “old” liberal, open-markets, open-borders EU, led by Germany, France and Italy, against the “new”, conservative, nationalist EU, states such as Poland, Hungary and Slovakia that are more recent entrants. At issue is the future of the EU’s so-called four freedoms – the free movement of labour, goods, services and capital.

Claiming to be responding to public concerns about immigration, Islamist terrorism, economic security and the erosion of cultural traditions, the Poles and their allies in the Visegrád group are resisting the migrant quota system championed by Germany’s Angela Merkel. They want greater autonomy for national parliaments, more oversight of transnational corporations and investment, the scrapping of plans for visa-free EU travel for Turks, and greater recognition of what Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s rightwing prime minister, calls “historic, religious and national identity”.

These objectives are shared by advancing, populist and nationalist movements across western Europe, too, including the Alternative for Germany (AfD), which humiliated Merkel in elections in her home state last week. And if this agenda sounds familiar, it is. It echoes many of the positions adopted by Leave campaigners and their Ukip allies. How all these issues are tackled really matters for Britain. The irony is, if they had not cut and run, the views espoused by Michael Gove and Boris Johnson would have had much more influence in reshaping Europe’s aims and priorities at this moment. As it is, they, and Britain, have no say.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/sep/10/observer-view-on-eu-bratislava-summit-britain-no-voice
- BENGALURU: Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers H N Ananth Kumar requested the participants at the BRICS Wellness Workshop to moot a proposal to the World Health Organisation to set up a World Organisation of Traditional Medicine, here on Saturday.

He urged Minister of State for AYUSH Shripad Yesso Naik along with other dignitaries to consider taking the initiative to form a forum, as BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) countries represent 40 per cent of the world’s population and India leads in traditional medicine alongside China.

“We should have such an organisation under the World Health Organisation. We are a miniscule part of WHO, but need to be a decisive part,” said Anant Kumar, who spoke about two-year-old AYUSH ministry being more internationally known than the ministry of civil aviation. The celebration of the World Yoga Day was one such indication, he said.
http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/Set-up-a-forum-for-traditional-medicines-Ananth-Kumar-in-BRICS-workshop/2016/09/11/article3618585.ece
- The world’s top ten corporations, including Apple, Shell and Walmart, have a combined revenue that is greater than the combined income of the 180 “poorest” countries out of the world’s total 195 sovereign states.

The figures, which reveal that Walmart, Apple and Shell alone are now richer than Russia, Belgium and Sweden, were released by the campaign group Global Justice Now.

Sixty-nine of the world’s 100 top economic entities are now corporations instead of countries – a rise from last year’s staggering figure of 63. Out of the top 200 entities in the world, a whopping 153 were found to be corporations.

The US, China, Germany, Japan, France and the UK comprise the top six economic entities followed by Italy, Brazil and Canada.

“The vast wealth and power of corporations is at the heart of so many of the world’s problems – like inequality and climate change,” said Nick Dearden, director of Global Justice Now.
https://www.rt.com/news/359125-top-corporations-richer-nations/
- The US is confusing international order with an “American” one, said Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, questioning Washington’s policies. It comes in response to Ash Carter’s accusations that Moscow wants to erode the principles of international order.

In the statement, Shoigu noted that numerous US-led interventions have actually contributed to the security challenges that the international community is currently facing.

“It is the United States, alongside their Western partners, who have been consistently destroying the basic foundations of the existing world, starting with Bosnia, Kosovo to Iraq and Libya”.

Shoigu’s statement comes in response to the comments made by US counterpart Ash Carter, who accused Russia of aiming to change the world order. Speaking to students at Oxford University on Wednesday, Carter did not mince his words, saying that Moscow pursues a “clear ambition to erode the principled international order.”

While acknowledging that Washington “does not seek an enemy in Russia,” he, among others, accused Moscow of “nuclear-saber-rattling” and territorial violations.

Addressing Carter’s comments, Shoigu said that Russia had warned what the outcome would be of the US-led NATO bombardment of the former Yugoslavia in 1999.

Shoigu said, “since then we only see that every time [the US] is stepping on the same rake in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, other countries,” and that the Pentagon, “instead of drawing lessons,” simply continues with its practices.

“Maybe it is time for the Pentagon to change something in that ‘strategy’? In order not justify in front of every microphone its failures by blaming everything on Russia, China and other countries with an independent outlook”.

Shoigu concluded that “maintaining international order” is a task for the whole international community and “not only of the Pentagon.” According to him this view remains a guiding principle for the Russian government.

“The sooner our US colleagues will realize that and start changing”, the sooner it will help resolve the existing problems, including Syria and elsewhere.
https://www.rt.com/news/359115-carter-american-order-shoigu/
- Billionaire entrepreneur Jeff Bezos promises that both satellites and people will be launched into space by 2020 in his newly revealed enormous, reusable rocket, “New Glenn.”

The announcement came in the form of a newsletter from Bezos’ private spaceflight company, Blue Origin, on Monday. The reveal included a drawing of two and three-stage versions of the New Glenn rocket, which will stand at 270 feet (82 meters) and 313 feet (95 meters) respectively.

That’s big. Very big. As Space.com points out, that’s taller than SpaceX’s upcoming Falcon Heavy and United Luanch Alliance’s Delta IV Heavy, and the three-stage version is close to the size of NASA’s Saturn V that carried astonauts to the moon.
https://www.rt.com/usa/359134-blue-origin-rocket-spacex/

- “Don’t believe those phony numbers,” Trump said of government employment figures in February. “When you hear 4.9 and 5 percent unemployment, the number’s probably 28, 29, as high as 35—in fact, I even heard recently 42 percent.” In an economic speech in August, Trump called the 5 percent unemployment rate “one of the biggest hoaxes in American politics.”
Only there is no evidence to support the idea that the employment numbers are a hoax. The numbers are compiled by career professionals at the Bureau of Labor Statistics who are insulated from political influence. The current jobless rate lines up almost exactly with a separate survey conducted by The Conference Board asking people whether jobs are plentiful or hard to get. The numbers correlate now just as they did during previous administrations, suggesting there is no manipulation in the numbers.
And while the headline jobless figure is 4.9 percent, the BLS also maintains a widely cited alternative measure of unemployment that accounts for “discouraged” workers who have largely given up looking.
That figure is now 9.7 percent, down from a recession-high of 17.1 percent in April 2010. The broader measure of unemployment remains slightly elevated but is not much higher than it was before the last recession began.
Trump is on stronger ground when he talks about the labor force participation rate, which is now at just 62.8 percent, down from nearly 66 percent when Obama took office and close to its lowest rate in 30 years.
But instead of focusing tightly on an economic agenda that seeks to address why there are fewer people in the workforce and why those who are working are not seeing the kind of productivity gains common in the past, Trump often gets sidetracked into conspiracy theories that Republicans fear could turn off the relatively high number of currently undecided voters who might otherwise be inclined to try something new.
“You would think you would not need a stronger talking point than that this is the weakest economic recovery since at least World War II and perhaps ever,” said James Pethokoukis, scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. “You shouldn’t need to come up with conspiracy theories and exaggerations about economic data. This is all very common now in certain sectors of the right where people believe everything is rigged. But I’m not sure how it plays with undecided voters who probably think it all just sounds profoundly weird.”
Tim Miller, a partner at Definers Public Affairs who worked for Jeb Bush in the GOP primaries, said the Republican nominee's approach to the economy resonates with some deeply disaffected voters but could alienate others.
“The hyperbole and conspiracies and exaggerations create a disconnect with anyone who is not going through severe economic pain,” Miller said. “Now there are people going through severe economic pain and he is doing well with those voters. But with suburban, college-educated voters he is offering nothing. There is a total disconnect with their experience.”
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/donald-trump-conspiracy-economy-228044
- The Electronic Frontier Foundation, an American non-profit that fights for digital rights, said in an analysis: "Make no mistake: the Rule 41 proposal implicates people well beyond US borders. This update expands the jurisdiction of judges to cover any computer user in the world who is using technology to protect their location privacy or is unwittingly part of a botnet."

It said people both inside and outside the US should be equally concerned about the proposed changes.

"The change to Rule 41 isn’t merely a procedural update. It significantly expands the hacking capabilities of the United States government without any discussion or public debate by elected officials.

"If members of the intelligence community believe these tools are necessary to advancing their investigations, then this is not the path forward. Only elected members of Congress should be writing laws, and they should be doing so in a matter that considers the privacy, security, and civil liberties of people impacted," the EFF said.
http://www.itwire.com/government-tech-policy/74755-fbi-has-quiet-plan-for-mass-hacking.html
- Russia again launched 23 Tochka missiles in the Russo-Georgia War in 2008, three of them from within separatist-held Ochamchira. Striking Poti, Gori, Racha, and Vaziani with cluster munitions, the missiles reportedly did not inflict great damage, though some accounts insist they played a hand in hitting Georgian airpower on the ground.

Ukraine possesses 90 Tochka launch units, and these went into action against pro-Russian separatists in 2014 and 2015. Many of the Ukrainian missiles are alleged to have failed mid-flight, though some may have caused significant damage. Separatist rebels claim to have shot one down earlier this year, though most analysts consider this unlikely.

A Ukrainian Tochka is believed to have caused a massive explosion in February 2015 when it struck a chemical plant in Donetsk. Shattering windows kilometers away, the blast was first mis-identified by some as tactical-nuclear explosion or the result of a strike from a 2S4 mortar.

Several other countries also maintain Tochkas. North Korea is believed to have an indigenously designed Tochka variant called the KN-2 Toksa. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan own small numbers, presumably ready for use against each other in their decades-long conflict over the Karabakh region. Belarus still maintains 36 launchers, Bulgaria 18, and Kazakhstan an unknown number.

The combat record of Tochka shows that even a Cold War-era tactical ballistic missile with a relatively short range is capable of wreaking considerable havoc—even against a force benefitting from air superiority and advanced air defenses.
http://nationalinterest.org/blog/ss-21-scarab-russias-forgotten-deadly-ballistic-missile-17679?page=2
- Two US spy planes have flown within a mile of Iranian airspace, and have received warnings of a potential shootdown should they breach it. US military officials said Iran behaved “unprofessionally” and “unsafe[ly]” during the stunt designed to “test” its reaction.

As confrontations between the two nations increase in the region, with Tehran allegedly threatening to shoot down US spy planes in the vicinity of its borders, the US navy also voiced the need to establish the rules of behavior between Iran and the US to avoid armed conflict.

A number of anonymous defense officials told Fox and CNN news that over the weekend the Iranian military warned the nine-member crew of the Navy Boeing P-8 Poseidon aircraft and a 24 member crew of EP-3 Aries not to enter Iranian airspace or they would run the risk getting shot down.

According to officials the September 10 warning was issued as both planes flew on a reconnaissance mission 13 miles off the coast of Iran, in the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman. That is just one mile short of the 12 nautical miles that belong to Iran’s territorial waters.

One US official told Fox News that American planes ignored the warning and continued on their mission, but without infringing on Iran’s air space.

“We wanted to test the Iranian reaction,” the US official told Fox. “Anytime you threaten to shoot someone down, it’s not considered professional.”

Other officials also called Tehran’s threat “unprofessional” and “unsafe” despite the Fox report which cited the latest intelligence assessment, that said that there were no Iranian missile launchers in the area.

Earlier this month Brigadier General Abdollah Reshadi told reporters that Iran’s Air Defense Force constantly monitors the skies nationwide to observe and detect hostile activity.

“[Our] radar coverage of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman detects aerial traverse by [reconnaissance] aircraft,” Reshadi said. “We detect any flying activity in time and deliver tactical response in less than two minutes.”
https://www.rt.com/news/359132-iran-us-spy-planes-warning/
- The world’s top ten corporations, including Apple, Shell and Walmart, have a combined revenue that is greater than the combined income of the 180 “poorest” countries out of the world’s total 195 sovereign states.

The figures, which reveal that Walmart, Apple and Shell alone are now richer than Russia, Belgium and Sweden, were released by the campaign group Global Justice Now.

Sixty-nine of the world’s 100 top economic entities are now corporations instead of countries – a rise from last year’s staggering figure of 63. Out of the top 200 entities in the world, a whopping 153 were found to be corporations.

The US, China, Germany, Japan, France and the UK comprise the top six economic entities followed by Italy, Brazil and Canada.

“The vast wealth and power of corporations is at the heart of so many of the world’s problems – like inequality and climate change,” said Nick Dearden, director of Global Justice Now.

“The drive for short-term profits today seems to trump basic human rights for millions of people on the planet. These figures show the problem is getting worse,” he added.

The London-based campaign group released the figures in an effort to put increased pressure on the British government ahead of their working group with the UN.

The meeting, led by Ecuador, was established with the aim of working towards a binding treaty that would ensure “transnational corporations abide by the full range of human rights responsibilities”.

“The UK government has facilitated this rise in corporate power – through tax structures, trade deals and even aid programmes that help big business,” said Dearden.

READ MORE: No compromise from US, no TTIP with EU this year – France & Germany on trade deal

“Their wholehearted support for the US-EU trade deal TTIP, is just the latest example of government help to big business. Disgracefully it also routinely opposes the call of developing countries to hold corporations to account for their human rights impacts at the UN.”
https://www.rt.com/news/359125-top-corporations-richer-nations/
- Brazilian President Michel Temer is turning to an unlikely source to help solve his country’s fiscal crisis -- deadbeat taxpayers.

Temer, 75, who was sworn in after President Dilma Rousseff’s Aug. 31 impeachment, wants to turn a chunk of uncollected taxes into securities and sell them to investors, an idea that only a few governments have ever tried. If it works, the plan could quickly raise as much as 70 billion reais ($22 billion) for his cash-strapped government and create a new market in Brazil. If done right, the idea could catch on around the world.

"The idea is to simply anticipate revenue that would be granted anyway," said Brazilian Senator Paulo Bauer, who’s sponsoring a bill in parliament that’d pave the way for such securitizations. "This is a very good project because the debtor will still owe to the states or the federal government. The debtors will not be paying banks, they will be paying the Treasury. Then the Treasury will pay the banks."
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-09-13/world-tax-dodger-havens-watch-brazil-try-to-sell-deadbeats-debt

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