Russia Launches Missile and a Missile Arsenal that is 80% New by 2016
Russia successfully test-fired a Topol intercontinental ballistic missile on Friday as part of checks needed to extend its service life for up to 22 years, Russian media reported.
The Topol was fired from the Plesetsk cosmodrome, nestled among the forests of northern Russia, and successfully hit the test site on Russia’s Pacific peninsula of Kamchatka, 6,000 km (3,700 miles) to the east.
Russia plans on spending as much, if not more, money on defense, with or without an economic crisis. The Topol group of missiles has been around since 1985 and are said to be designed to pierce anti-missile defense systems such as the shield being proposed in Poland.
Russia’s missile arsenal, based on their current defense spending, will be 80% new by 2016.
Meanwhile, our President has cut missile defense in the upcoming defense budget. Although it appears that the defense budget has increased by 4% it’s not the overall increase, it’s where the cuts took place and on what programs. Our military supplies for specific integral projects will be cut and we will be behind the times compared to other countries – we will be left in a situation much like Carter and Clinton after they were done cutting defense programs.
New rockets will by 2016 account for at least 80% of the strategic missile forces in Russia as it replaces its Soviet-era arsenal with new nuclear-capable missiles, the military said Friday.
“Plans for the development of the Russian strategic rocket forces through 2016 foresee a decrease in quantity and a transformation in quality at the same time, ” Nikolai Solovstov, the commander of Russia’s strategic missile forces, told reporters.
“Rocket systems with an extended shelf life will account for roughly 20%, while new rocket systems for at least 80% of the forces,” said Colonel-General Solovtsov, quoted by the Russian news agencies.
In December, he announced that Russia would by 2020 replace its Soviet-era arsenal with new nuclear-capable intercontinental missiles capable of overcoming anti-missile defense measures by enemy states.
The costly overhaul of the missile forces comes as Russia is locked in a bitter dispute with the U.S. over its plans to install anti-missile defense facilities in central Europe.
Russia has urged Barack Obama to drop the plans, which were devised by his predecessor George W. Bush but the new U.S. president has said he would move forward with the missile defense shield.
I thought that Obama was Medved’s new comrade? Apparently, the fawning media was over exaggerating the success of Obama’s introduction to the international stage – what’s new though right? Many of us who read into things a little more and search for news all over the place knew that it was nothing near a success.
I also thought that Obama was going to implement “change” from the Bush era, however, he is doing many similar things that Bush did. Bush may have had some Intel in regards to Russia, China, etc.? What do you think?
Solovtsov added it was important for Russia to continue to upgrade its strategic missiles to ensure stability in the world.
“Quality enhancement of the components of Russia’s strategic nuclear forces will be required to maintain the necessary balance of forces in solving the task of nuclear containment,” he said.
Stability and nuclear containment could be code words for trying to become more of a world power and it’s my assumption that Russia has wanted to become a world superpower again, ever since it lost that title a couple decades ago.
In the last few days we have learned that both the Chicoms and Russia have been working overtime to plant hidden malware in the US electrical grid and that they have also been working with Iran, North Korea, Venezuela and Cuba (since former and current communist country do have a kindred spirit).
The Russians actually have more than just a small number of intercontinental missiles – many of which have multiple targeted warheads – as well as many nuclear missiles situated on submarines cruising the oceans.
It is still questionable to know at this time, whether or not statements out of Russia or any other country for that matter can be trusted, on what they pronounce to own as weapons. And without having inside information in the missile community of the defense industry, it is difficult to gather whether or not we have advanced enough systems to counter these types of weapons. I do know that we still outspend our counterparts for missiles and air defense, but as we have seen in cases of war, sometimes the most primitive of weapons and warfare are the toughest to defeat.
We have anti-missile systems, based in Alaska, and other places in the United States,(that obama is now in the process of cutting funding for or in some circumstances just keeping funding flat). These anti-missile systems and counter measures are designed to at best to intercept (there are 3 stages of missile interception) a small handful of missiles that North Korea or Iran might one day possess and choose to launch, or Russia and China who may and probably do, already have these types of weapons.
It’s no wonder why I felt that Sarah Palin, even as a VP, could have out done Obama on foreign policy and national defense. She is the commander in chief of the only National Guard that is on duty 24/7 and contains our best anti-missile systems. With recent news of the North Korean rocket launch Sarah Palin has been incredibly outspoken on the issue of missile defense spending and has written letters to Obama which we have also posted on here.
7,000 Centrifuges For Iran (The Non Threat)
Iran’s atomic chief Gholam Reza Aghazadeh on Thursday declared the Islamic republic has installed around 7,000 centrifuges at its Natanz uranium enrichment facility.
But, we should have unilateral talks at the table with Iran, especially after Russia’s statement that they are no threat to us, and after China was caught funneling nuclear material to them through New York banks, and our own intel that says they have the material to build weapons… Can’t wait for this to play out. Let’s see if proposing to send Iran Unicorns and Kittens will make him change his mind – he may get all Hopey-Changey on us!
Espionage: China and Russia, Iran is No Threat
The spies came from China, Russia and other countries, these officials said, and were believed to be on a mission to navigate the U.S. electrical system and its controls. The intruders haven’t sought to damage the power grid or other key infrastructure, but officials warned they could try during a crisis or war.
“The Chinese have attempted to map our infrastructure, such as the electrical grid,” said a senior intelligence official. “So have the Russians.”
The espionage appeared pervasive across the U.S. and doesn’t target a particular company or region, said a former Department of Homeland Security official. “There are intrusions, and they are growing,” the former official said, referring to electrical systems. “There were a lot last year.”
Many of the intrusions were detected not by the companies in charge of the infrastructure but by U.S. intelligence agencies, officials said. Intelligence officials worry about cyber attackers taking control of electrical facilities, a nuclear power plant or financial networks via the Internet.
Authorities investigating the intrusions have found software tools left behind that could be used to destroy infrastructure components, the senior intelligence official said. He added, “If we go to war with them, they will try to turn them on.”
Officials said water, sewage and other infrastructure systems also were at risk.
Officials cautioned that the motivation of the cyberspies wasn’t well understood, and they don’t see an immediate danger. China, for example, has little incentive to disrupt the U.S. economy because it relies on American consumers and holds U.S. government debt.
Russian and Chinese officials have denied any wrongdoing. “These are pure speculations,” said Yevgeniy Khorishko, a spokesman at the Russian Embassy. “Russia has nothing to do with the cyberattacks on the U.S. infrastructure, or on any infrastructure in any other country in the world.”
A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, Wang Baodong, said the Chinese government “resolutely oppose[s] any crime, including hacking, that destroys the Internet or computer network” and has laws barring the practice. China was ready to cooperate with other countries to counter such attacks, he said, and added that “some people overseas with Cold War mentality are indulged in fabricating the sheer lies of the so-called cyberspies in China.”
I find it interesting that there is a lot of talk around Congress in regards to a larger, reconstructed power grid. GE is banking on a new contract, and as many of us know, GE was a big backer of Barack Obama and owns NBC. I also come from a defense family and work in the defense industry, and have some knowledge in regards to the grid. Put it this way – the grid is not that large – it could easily be taken out by some shots.
Officials have also stated that they do not believe that China and Russia are working together on this. But if this cyberattack story is true, I find it ironic that in recent months China and Russia appear to be backing one another on various things. China and Russia both agreed to the Global Currency, both have stated that they would use their veto vote if North Korea suffered any new sanctions and both have been tied to selling nuclear materials to Iran and other “hostile” countries. The most recent event involved China utilizing New York banks to funnel money and arms to Iran.
This also comes as no surprise to hear Russia stating that Iran is no threat to the United States. I find that difficult to believe and I cannot take what Russia or China says as fact.
Iran poses no threat to the United States, Russia said Tuesday, rebuffing a key argument of President Barack Obama on whether to go ahead with a European missile shield bitterly opposed by Moscow.
The Obama administration says it is reviewing the shield project, studying whether it is militarily justified and cost effective.
But Sergei Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the United States, said that the Iran threat was a myth.
“I don’t see any threat to the United States coming from Iran anytime soon,” Kislyak told a conference of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
It seems pretty clear to me that Russia has a stake or two in this game so they would of course say Iran is no threat. First of all Russia sells items to Iran and secondly, Russia also opposes the missile shield promised by Bush to be built in Poland.
Economic Update: Bartering Is Cool, George Soros Speaks and G20 Leans on Global Currency
The Great Depression brought various methods to the fold in order to keep some type of currency flowing and people consuming. In many ways this is being called the “Great Recession,” and there still is that feeling in the air that a Great Depression may again be heading our way. However, some of these old systems such as the barter system or local currencies are being used again.
The barter system became popular in recent years and has become more modernized for today’s society. Craigslist became incredibly popular when it first began but during these pressing times, Ebay and Craigslist have seen more traffic than usual and one statistic earlier this month had the traffic for Craigslist up by 100%. New barter sites are popping up during this downturn such as www.tradeaway.comwhere you can sell and buy real estate, boats, cars, land, etc. Even Match.com’s traffic has soared, because young people who may or may not be let go first if a company needs to downsize (due to less tenure on the job) say that dating sites are cheaper than going out to bars to meet people.
I find it incredibly intriguing that local communities have begun using a method from the Great Depression in which they issue and name their own “currency.”
The systems generally work like this: Businesses and individuals form a network to print currency. Shoppers buy it at a discount — say, 95 cents for $1 value — and spend the full value at stores that accept the currency.
Workers with dwindling wages are paying for groceries, yoga classes and fuel with Detroit Cheers, Ithaca Hours in New York, Plenty in North Carolina or BerkShares in Massachusetts.
This type of currency encourages consumers to buy and it also encourages consumption at a local level to support local businesses that are also cash-strapped.
This could be a good thing for people to see value in limited government. Local and state government, or Federalism, is truly the more appropriate form of government rather than a larger centralized organization.
However, you still have to pay your taxes on it…
By law, local money may not resemble federal bills or be promoted as legal tender of the United States, says Claudia Dickens of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.
“We print the real thing,” she says.
The IRS gets its share. When someone pays for goods or services with local money, the income to the business is taxable, says Tom Ochsenschlager of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. “It’s not a way to avoid income taxes, or we’d all be paying in Detroit dollars,” he says.
Many still feel that bad times are ahead for the United States, our economy and the dollar.
George Soros is echoing what many conservatives and libertarians have been saying the past few months with the incessant government spending and bailouts. He foresees the U.S. becoming much like Japan in the 90′s, where they continued to spend in order to try and dig themselves out of a collapse, and their interventionist policies actually made things worse. Soros said that he believes the United States will go throw a period of relatively low growth coupled with high inflation…DUH!
Thank you Captain Obvious!
The recovery will look like “an inverted square root sign,” Soros said. “You hit bottom and you automatically rebound some, but then you don’t come out of it in a V-shape recovery or anything like that. You settle down—step down.”
“I don’t expect the U.S. economy to recover in the third or fourth quarter so I think we are in for a pretty lasting slowdown,” Soros said, adding that in 2010 there might be “something” in terms of U.S. growth.
The healing of the banking system and housing markets is crucial to recovery. “The banking system, as a whole, is basically insolvent,” Soros said.
“What we have created now is a situation where the banks who will be able to earn their way out of a hole, but by doing that, they are going to weigh on the economy,” he said. “Instead of stimulating the economy, they will draw the lifeblood, so to speak, of profits away from the real economy in order to keep themselves alive. This is the zombie bank situation.”
“Gird Your Loins:” North Korea Launches Rocket
SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea fired a rocket over Japan on Sunday, defying Washington, Tokyo and others who suspect the launch was cover for a test of its long-range missile technology. President Barack Obama warned the move would further isolate the communist nation.
Liftoff took place at 11:30 a.m. (0230 GMT) from the coastal Musudan-ri launch pad in northeastern North Korea, the South Korean and U.S. governments said. The multistage rocket hurtled toward the Pacific, reaching Japanese airspace within seven minutes, but no debris appeared to hit its territory, officials in Tokyo said.
The U.S., South Korea, Japan and others suspect the launch was a guise for testing the regime’s long-range missile technology — a worrying step toward eventually mounting a nuclear weapon on a missile capable of reaching Alaska and beyond.
Now here is the amusingly propagandized statement from North Korea:
Four hours after the launch, North Korea declared it a success. The satellite reached outer space in just over nine minutes and was orbiting without any problems, the state-run Korean Central News Agency said in a dispatch from Pyongyang.
