France would vote in favour of Palestinian non-member status at the United Nations

Nov 27 (Reuters) - France said on Tuesday it would vote in favour of Palestinian non-member status at the United Nations, boosting Palestinian efforts to secure greater international recognition.

Frustrated that their bid for full U.N. membership last year was thwarted by U.S. opposition in the U.N. Security Council, Palestinians have launched a watered-down bid for recognition as a non-member state, similar to the status the Vatican enjoys.

The proposal, which is due to be put to the vote in the General Assembly at the end of the week, would implicitly recognise Palestinian statehood. It could also grant access to bodies such as the International Criminal Court in The Hague, where the Palestinians could file complaints against Israel.

"This Thursday or Friday, when the question is asked, France will vote yes," Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius announced in the French National Assembly, the lower house of parliament.

Abbas' bid seems certain to win approval in any vote in the 193-nation assembly. The United States say Palestinian statehood must be achieved by negotiation and has called on Abbas to return to peace talks that collapsed in 2010 over Israeli settlement construction in the occupied West Bank.

"It is only with negotiations between the two sides that we demand immediately without any preconditions that a Palestinian state can become a reality," Fabius said.

France, a member of the U.N. Security Council, had under former President Nicolas Sarkozy promised to support Abbas if he opted for the upgrade option and broke from its closest allies last year voting in favour of giving the Palestinians full membership of the U.N.'s cultural agency UNESCO.

Reuters

Nato failing to fight Afghan narcotics

MOSCOW, November 27 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's anti-drug chief criticized NATO on Tuesday for failing to combat drug-trafficking from Afghanistan.

“Drug production in Afghanistan is a threat for the EU states and they [NATO] agree, but say that they cannot work outside the European Union,” Federal Drug Control Service head Viktor Ivanov said.

Russia is interested in cooperation with NATO on the problem, Ivanov added, but complained that NATO has been reluctant to accredit an official of his anti-drug agency to represent Russia in Brussels.

US and NATO forces have been involved in Afghanistan since 2001, and make up the bulk of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which is responsible for assisting the Afghanistan armed forces in fighting the Taliban and other insurgent groups.

Many of those groups, particularly in the south of the country, are reliant on opium and heroin production to fund their military campaign. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime says the Taliban earn $150 million a year from drugs.

Russia fears the flow of drugs from Afghanistan will increase after ISAF forces are withdrawn from the country in 2014.

Russian and US drug control services carried out their first joint anti-narcotics operation in Afghanistan in October 2010, destroying four major drug laboratories, Ivanov said that month.

Last week, the Federal Drug Control Service broke up on a drug cartel in the Tatarstan republic city of Naberezhbyye Chelny that had been trafficking heroin for about four years, Ivanov said.

In course of the most recent operation some 175 kilogram of heroin was confiscated. The cartel consisted of 20 organizers, 100 couriers and 15 dealers around Russia.

The group was trafficking drugs primarily from Afghanistan through Central Asia, the former Soviet republics and EU states, Ivanov said.

Heroin kills up to 100,000 people in Russia annually, according to the Federal Drug Control Service.






RIA Novosti

China defense chief says military buildup no threat to the world

BEIJING, Nov. 27, 2012 (Reuters) — China's military buildup poses no threat to the world, Defense Minister Liang Guanglie said on Tuesday, in an effort to allay fears among Asian neighbors amid long-running maritime disputes.

"There is absolutely no need for that," Liang told Reuters, when asked about neighbors' concerns.The United States, Japan and many other Southeast Asian states have frequently expressed worries about China's double-digit defense spending increases and expanding naval reach, saying Beijing's plans lack transparency.

"The Chinese military must develop, but there's no 'worry' or 'fear' as the outside world says," he said before a meeting with visiting U.S. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus. "That's not what China is about."

China's growing military influence has coincided with a more assertive diplomatic tone, evident in rows with Japan and Southeast Asia over disputed islands. China has also told the United States, with President Barack Obama's "pivot" to Asia, not to get involved.

Liang, speaking at China's Defense Ministry, stressed the need for cooperation between Beijing and Washington, which has called on China to share more about its military ambitions.

"We should develop the ties between us, between our two militaries, touch on some of our differences, resolve conflicting views," Liang said before meeting Mabus.

"We should push forward the development of our two powers, and push forward the development of a new China-U.S. military relationship," he said. "Our two countries' ties are very important."

The modernization of China's army in particular has raised concern in the region. China's People's Liberation Army, which encompasses all branches of the military, has launched a new wave of technology and hardware this year.

It has test-flown its first two stealth fighters, and launched its first aircraft carrier, which it bought from Ukraine and refurbished. This month, it unveiled a new attack helicopter.

China has also been raising its profile in the South and East China Seas this year, reasserting its sovereignty over islands or waters also claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Japan and others.

China ushered in a new generation of leaders this month at the 18th Communist Party Congress in Beijing, with outgoing President Hu Jintao making a pointed reference to strengthening China's naval forces, protecting maritime interests and the need to "win local war".

Both Vietnam and the Philippines have previously complained about Chinese activity and even harassment in contested parts of the South China Sea.

China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan all claim territory in the sea, which covers important shipping routes and is thought to hold untapped oil and gas reserves.

China's claim is by far the largest, forming a vast U-shape over most of the sea's 648,000 square miles (1.7 million square km), including the Spratly and Paracel archipelagos.

Sino-Japanese relations are also under strain after the Japanese government bought disputed islands, triggering violent protests and calls for boycotts of Japanese products across China.

The USA Today

US led NATO intervention begins in Syria war. Patriots in Turkey

Tuesday, Nov. 27, the Middle East military spotlight swung around from Gaza to the Syrian war with steps for the start of US and NATO intervention in that conflict. Without spelling this out, a game changer began unfolding when a joint Turkish-NATO team began making a site survey for the deployment of Patriot Air and Missile Defense Systems, manned by American military teams. The team, said the statement from Ankara, will assess where to station the missiles and how many would be needed. It reiterated that the system is “for defensive purposes” and not for a “no-fly zone or offensive operations,” but just for use “against an air or missile threat from Syria.”

However, the Patriots in combination with already installed elements of the missile shield, will command an area beyond the Turkish-Syrian border - all of northern Syria up to and including the embattled towns of Aleppo and Homs, DEBKAfile’s military sources report.

Their presence will impede the operations of Assad’s most effective and lethal means of war against the rebels in that region – air force bombardment.

The positioning of US anti-missile missiles in Turkey coincides with the rebels’ success in destroying the Assad regime’s key air and radar stations in southern Syria and along the Jordanian border. 

The two thrusts add up to a coordinated military effort in northern and southern Syria to seize control of the skies in both regions from Assad’s control and push his forces back into central Syria.

A part of the US-Turkish plan affects Israel. Monday, DEBKAfile reported exclusively that in a resounding blow to Bashar Assad's ability to fight external enemies, Syrian rebels had destroyed the Assad regime’s most important electronic warning radar station facing Israel – M-1 – Monday, Nov. 26.

This Russian-built station monitored Israeli warplanes' takeoff and landing activities at air bases in the Negev and Hatzerim in the south and tracked them up to the Syrian border. The facility was designed to guide Syrian missiles targeting any point on the Israeli map, in sync with air defense facilities south of Damascus and on the Golan Heights. The radar’s range also covered naval movements in Mediterranean waters off the shores of Israel and Lebanon.
Western military sources told DEBKAfile that the destruction of this vital facility has blinded the two eyes which Syrian air, air defense and missile forces had trained on Israel. It has therefore crippled, though not completely dismantled, Bashar Assad’s ability to got to war against Israel, Jordan or Saudi Arabia.
M-1 radar also swept all parts of Jordan and northern Saudi Arabia where the important Tabuk air base is situated. Deployed there in addition to the Saudi Air Force are French fighter-bombers ready to go to war against Syria.
M-1 also relayed current data on Israeli military movements to Hizballah and would have been a vital source of intelligence in a potential Lebanese Shiites offensive against the Jewish state.

The Syrian ruler and his spokesmen have frequently threatened since the eruption of the popular insurrection that if Assad had his back to the wall, the entire Middle East would go up in flames, especially Israel.

In the last two days, the Syrian rebels have made additional gains: They were able to capture areas abutting on the Jordanian border, excepting only the Ramtha border crossing. They also seized the Marj al-Sultan military air field southeast of Damascus and adjoining Syrian Army 4th Brigade bases.
Most of the men of the 82nd Infantry Brigade guarding M-1 were killed in the fighting, fled or were taken prisoner.

Our military sources notes that after M-1, the Assad regime still retains two key radar stations: M-2 in Shanshar south of Homs, which covers central and northern Syria; and M-3 near Latakia which keeps an eye on the northern region up to the Turkish border and the eastern Mediterranean up to Cyprus.
All three radar stations were linked to the Syrian general staff, air force, air defense, missile and navy operations rooms and fed them the essential real-time intelligence data needed for decision-making at the highest level. However, the loss of M-1 seriously hampers the Syria army’s capacity to take on Israel or Jordan.


DEBKAfile

Bondi Beach turns into the 'Red Sea'

Tourists heading for world-famous Bondi Beach were left high and dry today after a rare natural phenomenon turned the water blood red.

Bondi was among several popular beaches in and around Sydney, Australia, which had to be closed after a huge algae bloom transformed the sea into something resembling a scene from a Jaws movie.

But despite the warnings a number of intrepid beachgoers were seen venturing into the water and swimming through the red surface, Ten News Sydney reported.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2239040/Crimson-tides-Tourists-flee-Bondi-Beach-Red-Sea-rare-algae-bloom-turns-water-colour-blood.html#ixzz2DR1f0bzM

Chinese made J-15 fighter jet takes off from the deck of the Liaoning carrier

Two months after China’s first aircraft carrier Liaoning was commissioned, and a year and a half after it began sea trials, an Chinese J-15 fighter became the first known fixed wing aircraft to take off from and land on it. Footage of the occasion aired on CCTV over the weekend shows the fighter jet, tail-hook clearly visible, successfully catching the arrestor wire on the deck of the Liaoning before coming to a stop and being directed to a designated location for technical checks. The video subsequently shows footage of the aircraft preparing for flight and flying off the end of Liaoning’s ski jump deck.

Once again, China has exceeded the expectations of many foreign observers regarding timelines for military capabilities development, though the tremendous publicity the event has received could limit the country’s ability to move with such speed in developing its aircraft carrier going forward.

Common Steps
 

Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesThis frame grab taken from Chinese television CCTV on November 27, 2012 shows undated video broadcast on November 25 of two crew members directing a Chinese-made J-15 fighter jet as it takes off from the deck of the Liaoning, China’s first aircraft carrier.

One carrier image in particular has caught the Chinese public’s imagination: that of alaunch officer’s signal to release the wheels and send the aircraft racing down the runway. This iconic image of a “shooter” in action, popularized in the American film “Top Gun,” encapsulates Chinese aspirations for national success, reaching world standards, and achieving the recognition that has long eluded China. Accordingly, images of Chinese of a wide range of ages and walks of life assuming the stance, some in the most unlikely locations, have flooded the Internet — a meme reminiscent of planking that Chinese Internet users having taken to calling “Aircraft Carrier Style,” after a certain viral video out of South Korea.

In addition to the shooter gesture, American naval aviators with whom we spoke have noted familiar hardware and procedures akin to U.S. Naval Air Training and Operating Procedures Standardization (NATOPS) in footage of the J-15 landing and take-off. The landing signals officer platform, optical landing system, effective non-skid flight deck, and color-specific uniforms are all strikingly similar to their U.S. and Russian equivalents.

How Big a Step Forward?
China clearly appears to be employing a measured, methodical approach and taking the time to get things right. Liaoning and its crew were ready for the new step of landing the J-15 and having it takeoff again. All the pieces were in place, and the weather was ideal.

The takeoff and landing were businesslike and accomplished without fanfare or incident, with the lone exception of the untimely death by heart attack of Luo Yang, president and general manager of Shenyang Aircraft Corp., who had been responsible for the carrier-based J-15’s research and development.

So how to assess the significance of China’s latest military accomplishment? One U.S. Navy expert with whom we spoke described it as a mile run by a former non-runner who is now training to run a marathon in the future. The magnitude of the present accomplishment depends largely on whether it is measured against the zero miles run before, or the 26.2 miles that must be run in the future.

Next Steps
To support future carrier capabilities, China must now establish comprehensive support infrastructure that the U.S. military refers to as doctrine, organization, training, materiel, leadership and education, and personnel and facilities (DOTMLPF). It must develop training, logistics, and maintenance pipelines. It must also develop operational infrastructure, including command and control. In all these areas, which involve primarily hardware and software, it can continue to emulate U.S. and Russian approaches in many respects.

Where China will truly have to develop its own approach is in developing a theory of operations: what its carriers will be used for, how many it will need, and the training and procedures to support such use. Here China may face more difficult challenges.

One obvious use of carriers is to enhance Chinese prestige by showing that Beijing has joined an exclusive international club. As soon as Liaoning’s air wing can be assembled, and operated with some degree of confidence, it will likely depart Chinese waters on a series of cruises to “show the flag” as a Great White Fleet of one.

A second major mission is likely to entail demonstrating, and if necessary using, capacity to pressure neighbors with which China has island and maritime disputes. Being able to use deck aviation to cover an amphibious assault on islands, rocks and reefs—e.g., in the South China Sea—offers Beijing the means to pressure its smaller rivals without confrontation escalating into a shooting war. This approach may be fraught with risk, however, not only politically but also operationally. Carriers are generally ineffective platforms for sea control fighting in confined waters given their extreme vulnerability to missiles and other means of attack. Even a far-less-capable military, such as that of Vietnam, has the ability to develop rudimentary “anti-access” capabilities.

Beyond the possible regional contingencies where Chinese leaders might see a carrier as a useful instrument of national power, there is the question of to what extent the Chinese aircraft carrier program will be governed by the country’s naval strategy, and to what extent the carrier’s existence may reshape Navy leaders’ policy outlook and perception of how many carriers it needs.
Associated PressIn this undated photo released by China’s Xinhua News Agency, made available on Sunday, Nov. 25, 2012, a carrier-borne J-15 fighter jet lands the Liaoning.

Although the ultimate number of aircraft carriers China will build remains uncertain, Chinese sources such as the Liaoning carrier’s deputy chief designer suggest the country seeks multiple carriers. There are relatively straightforward operational reasons behind seeking multiple vessels. For instance, keeping 1-2 carriers operationally ready means that the PLAN would likely need at least 3-4 vessels.

The Problem with Baby Steps

Carrier aviation is an inherently risky business. In “Top Gun,” Nick “Goose” Bradshaw dies in a training accident. In real life, the U.S. carrier program was forged in the crucible of wartime, when severe losses were not just accepted but expected. Planes and pilots were lost at an extreme rate, but the Navy gained invaluable experience in the process. High loss rates persisted well through the early Cold War years. Despite tremendous improvements, even today it is not uncommon for a plane, pilot or deck crew member to be lost.

Chinese deck aviation, by contrast, is being developed in a technologically-advanced peacetime environment that does not justify significant losses. While carriers have always been “high-value units” whose use has been predicated on acceptable risk, today’s aircraft are more expensive and pilots scarcer in relative terms, making losses much harder to tolerate. Beijing has started with a prestigious, flawless image, and wants to maintain it both abroad and perhaps especially at home. In fact, the very public interest and support that has helped to propel China’s aircraft carrier program may stymie it by making decision-makers extremely risk averse.

This poses a dilemma. Adopting a risk-averse flight posture and avoiding high-volume flight operations may minimize accidents, but it cannot prevent them entirely. Even under ideal conditions—highly-trained senior pilots, careful attention to fuel to compensate for lack of aerial refueling capabilities, and access to divert fields—accidents will occur and aircraft and pilots will be lost.

An American naval analyst has recounted to us a slow-motion tragedy in which a U.S. Navy aircraft caught an arrestor wire and ruptured it without slowing down sufficiently. Unable to stop in time, yet sapped of momentum sufficient to permit a hasty takeoff, the aircraft rolled off the deck in front of the carrier and was promptly run over, causing both aircraft and pilot to be lost. Even the most meticulous Chinese operations could not prevent such an accident.

On the other hand, always choosing “baby steps” over “pushing the envelope” will severely restrict the progress that Beijing can make. Chinese planners thus face important decisions in this regard. How they decide will be reflected in part in how aggressively Liaoning pursues operations at night, in all weather conditions, and in rough seas. Perhaps if public excitement eventually dies down, it will become easier to use the carrier.

China Real Time Report

Testing fingerprint payments

Discover Financial Services Inc. employees will be able to pay by finger at their Riverwoods headquarters' cafeteria and convenience stores as they become the first to test a new payment system.

Discover, which is working with French biometrics firm Natural Security on the project and which plans to get the pilot underway in the next three months, has previously used hundreds of its employees to test new technologies including various "contactless" payments, in which credit cards are simply tap. It plans to test the fingerprint payment system with 300 to 350 employees.

Discover employees who want to participate will register at an on-site kiosk, which will read an index fingerprint and assign a number to it. Each employee will also receive a key fob with a chip that includes information about their individual credit-card account as well as their fingerprint.

To complete a purchase, the user will place his or her finger on a fingerprint reader near checkout, with the key fob kept nearby, such as in a pocket or purse, for the transaction to go through. One security benefit to the process is that it guarantees that the fob or credit card and its owner are at the same place at the same time. It could also be faster and more convenient as people won't have to fumble around with their credit cards.

The credit-card company's test comes a few years after U.S. grocer Jewel abandoned its program with Pay by Touch, which got about $300 million in debt and equity financing from investors.

In 2006, Pay by Touch said about 10,000 Chicagoans had signed up for its fingerprint-payment program. A year later, some creditors tried forcing the owner of Pay by Touch into involuntary bankruptcy as its finances went into disarray. By 2008, the Pay by Touch machines were removed from Jewel stores.

Troy Bernard, Discover's global head of emerging payments, said his company is working on several payment technologies that could come to fruition both in the short- and long-term.

"Biometrics falls into long-term solutions," Bernard said, acknowledging potential concerns about both biometrics as well as the barrier to entry of making someone register for something.

Chicago Tribune

IS EGYPT'S PRESIDENT FULFILLING BIBLICAL PROPHECY?

On Feb. 11, 2011, addressing the success of Egypt’s revolution, which he himself enthusiastically supported, President Barack Obama stood in the Grand Foyer of the White House and triumphantly declared, “The people of Egypt have spoken, their voices have been heard, and Egypt will never be the same.”

But the fruit of this change quickly became bitter to the Egyptian people. It is now becoming clear that the Egyptian people have traded a more secular autocrat for an Islamist dictator.

As Americans everywhere stopped to celebrate Thanksgiving Day, Egyptian President Morsi appeared on Egyptian television and shocked the nation, issuing a presidential decree effectively banning all challenges to his decrees, laws and decisions. The decree stated:

“The president can issue any decision or measure to protect the revolution. … The constitutional declarations, decisions and laws issued by the president are final and not subject to appeal.”

The decree also stated that the courts have no authority to dissolve the country’s Constituent Assembly, which is now rewriting the constitution.

Disparate groups within and outside of Egypt have expressed their alarm.

Within Egypt’s Constituent Assembly, various secularist opponents to Morsi have quit, including Coptic Christians and representatives of the April 6 Youth Movement, the very group that initiated the revolution in Egypt.

Mohamed El Baradei, another opponent of Morsi, accused the president of establishing himself as “a new pharaoh.”

In a typically toothless statement released Friday, the European Union “urged” Morsi to “respect the democratic process.”

In Tahrir Square thousands have gathered to protest what they are referring to as a “coup” carried out by Morsi. Thousands of others are counter-protesting. Violent clashes have broken out in a few cities.

Of course, seizing an ever-increasing level of power under the guise of democracy would be the most natural path for Morsi, with Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the north having already demonstrated how it’s done. In fact, Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood in many ways has modeled itself after Turkey’s Islamist political party.

Playing off the title of Turkey’s ruling Islamist political party, “The Justice and Development Party,” the Muslim Brotherhood ironically named its political party “The Freedom and Justice Party.”

Over the past 10 years, Turkey’s Erdogan has systematically dismantled the most well-established secular form of government in the Middle East, while establishing and guaranteeing his own power for many more years to come – all in the name of “democracy.”

The next significant step in Erdogan’s plan to ensconce himself as Turkey’s absolute ruler will come in 2014, when his present term as prime minister will come to an end. Already in the works are Erdogan’s plans to radically alter Turkey’s present parliamentary system to a presidential system, while placing himself on the ticket to be the next president. Beyond this, the present five-year term for president will expand to a seven-year term. If successful, this will guarantee that Erdogan will be able to maintain power until at least 2021.

But Erdogan’s ambitions have caused many to believe that he is seeking a leadership role beyond Turkey, throughout the whole region.

In a recent interview with Russia Today, Syrian President Basshar al-Assad said of Erdogan, “He personally thinks that he is the new sultan of the Ottoman and he can control the region as it was during the Ottoman Empire under a new umbrella. In his heart he thinks he is a caliph.”

But if Muhammad Morsi’s recent actions in seizing greater power are an indicator of things to come, Erdogan may have competition for the title of regional caliph.

With the ascendancy of Turkey in the north and Egypt’s new role as an emerging player, could we see two competing caliphates in the region? And as politically significant as all these events are, might they have have deeper significance as they relate to the fulfillment of biblical prophecy? There are two significant passages some students of the Bible are now considering.

The King of the North & The King of the South

The first passage is Daniel 11:21-45. In this prophecy, the Bible addresses the historical conflict between the infamous Antiochus IV Epiphanes, king of the Seleucid Kingdom, referred to as “the King of the North,” and Ptolemy VI, king of the Ptolemaic Kingdom, referred to as “the King of the South.” Antiochus ruled the region of modern-day Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Iran, while Ptolemy ruled the region of modern-day Egypt, Libya and north Sudan.

In verse 40, we are informed that the various conflicts that took place historically between these two kings would be repeated in the last days, immediately before the coming of the Messiah:

“At the end time the king of the South will collide with him, and the king of the North will storm against him with chariots, with horsemen and with many ships; and he will enter countries, overflow them and pass through. He will also enter the Beautiful Land, and many countries will fall. … Then he will stretch out his hand against other countries, and the land of Egypt will not escape. But he will gain control over the hidden treasures of gold and silver and over all the precious things of Egypt; and Libyans and Cushites will follow at his heels.” (Daniel 11:40-43)

The result of this last-days conflict between the northern “king” and his counterpart in the south will include massive regional wars, the defeat of Egypt, Libya and northern Sudan, and ultimately, the invasion and occupation of the nation of Israel. While numerous scholars and expositors throughout history have wrestled over the precise meaning of this passage, some are asking if it is possible that we are now witnessing the emergence of the last-days kingdoms of the North and South. Could Erdogan and Morsi be the last-days kings of the North and South, or are they merely precursors to the actual fulfillment of Daniel 11? Of course, we should be extremely cautious in considering these questions, but students of the Scriptures would certainly do well to remain watchful and in a sober spirit of prayer concerning the momentous evens we are now seeing unfold throughout the Middle East.

Isaiah 19
Another significant passage many are also now looking to is Isaiah 19, a profound prophecy concerning the state of Egypt in the days and years immediately preceding the return of the Messiah.

As massive demonstrations rock Egypt, some are protesting against Morsi, while many others are protesting in support of him. As violent clashes between the two groups erupt, it is clear that Egypt is a deeply divided nation. How far will it all go? Could Isaiah’s prophecy of an Egyptian civil war be seen in our day?

“So I will incite Egyptians against Egyptians; and they will each fight against his brother and each against his neighbor, city against city and kingdom against kingdom.” (Isaiah 19:2)

And if Isaiah’s prophecy is beginning to unfold before us in Egypt, what would this mean with regard to the return of Jesus? Certainly, there are some “signs of the Messiah” the Bible indicates the wise would be able to discern and identify prior to his coming. Some of the more prominent of these signs include the following:
The return of the Jewish people to their homeland.
The emergence of the kings of the North and the South.
A regional security alliance between Israel and her surrounding neighbors.
The re-establishment of the biblical sacrificial system on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

Over the past 65 years, we have already witnessed the return of the Jewish people to their homeland in Israel. What might we witness next? One thing is clear: The world is changing rapidly before us, and watchful students of the Bible today must remain sober, alert and in a constant state of prayer as we all together eagerly await the return of Jesus.

“Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door.”

–Matthew 24:33

US Is now In Recession

While the just released Durable Goods orders report for October came in modestly better than expected (which many thought would be a decline due to Hurricane Sandy), the primary driver of this continues to be record durable good inventory accumulation. Excluding the noise, and focusing only on real, non-noisy economic strength metrics such as New Capital Goods Orders (technically defined as the year over year change in Non-Defense Capital Goods Excluding Aircraft), a very different and far uglier picture emerges. In fact, the October Y/Y Plunge of -8.1% in this major indicator was the biggest drop since 2009.



Curious where this collapse in New Orders is in the context of prior recessions? Here it is (shaded areas indicate NBER-defined recessions). We have never had such a steep drop in Cap Goods in the past 30 years without a concurrent recession.



To summarize: according to one of the least susceptible to manipulation indicators of US economic strength and growth, the US economy is now in a recession.

Zero Hedge

Vomiting virus sweeps Britain

Britain is in the grip of a winter vomiting outbreak which has already seen many thousands fall victim to the debilitating virus.

Cases of the bug have surged to a five-year high and the health service has reported outbreaks at dozens of hospitals.

Front-line health workers are being struck down by the virus, leaving overstretched departments badly under-staffed.



Norovirus: The bug causes violent vomiting and severe diarrhoea

Experts say the norovirus bug has arrived early this year and have warned the problem will worsen over the winter.

Figures from the Health Protection Agency show the number of confirmed reports of the virus – where samples have been sent by hospitals or GPs to laboratories for tests – is up 52 per cent on last year.

There have been 1,975 cases since July – compared to 1,301 this time last year.

However, this is a just a tiny fraction of the real number because the vast majority of victims do not report their symptoms to their GP. In addition, there have now been 53 outbreaks at NHS trusts across the country.

This includes 45 hospitals which have been forced to close off wards and find space for patients elsewhere while they carry out a deep clean of the wards.



The black dotted line shows how norovirus laboratory reports have been higher for the past five weeks compared with any year since 2007 when testing methods changed

Last night microbiologist Professor Hugh Pennington, based at the University of Aberdeen, said: ‘This year it seems to have taken off earlier than in previous years.

‘No-one can predict what it’s going to do except that we are going to have a reasonably hard time of it, I am sure. It would be grossly optimistic to suggest otherwise.

‘It’s a nightmare because wards are closed, it’s a nightmare because staff are off, who are essential. And it’s obviously a nightmare for any patients in hospital who get it who are already pretty sick.’

The HPA figures show the number of wards closed because of the virus is a third higher compared to this time last year, when 33 were shut.

Norovirus is normally brought into hospitals by patients, visiting relatives or even staff. It is also linked to outbreaks at schools and is responsible for many hospital admissions for young children.

The elderly are also vulnerable because they can become dehydrated quickly and end up requiring more hospital treatment.

It is extremely contagious and is often spread by touching the same doors or stair rails as someone with the virus. Experts also say that when a patient vomits, there is a strong chance anyone else in the room will be infected.


Increasing: There have been 1,975 cases since July, compared to 1,301 this time last year

It puts the NHS under huge strain because hospitals have to close wards – which limits the number of patients that can be admitted.

Hospitals then have to find space elsewhere in the hospital for all those patients on the ward while it is thoroughly cleaned. Staff must also ensure that any patient with the virus is kept in isolation.

One of the worst-hit is Sheffield’s Northern General Hospital which has closed four wards and is advising visitors to stay away. It confirmed it was aware of four members of staff off-sick with the virus.

Warwick Hospital also confirmed six wards were affected – although not all were closed – and said that three nurses had the illness. It has banned visits to the six wards.

Other hospitals which have outbreaks include Solihull in the West Midlands, East Surrey Hospital, Weston General Hospital in Weston-super-Mare, and Hinchingbrooke in Cambridgeshire.

John Harris, an expert in norovirus at the HPA, said: ‘Everyone can help to minimise the risk of outbreaks at their local hospital by not going if they have the typical symptoms of a norovirus infection.’

He said one of the reasons behind the 2012 surge may be that laboratory techniques are better at detecting norovirus.

Experts do not know why norovirus has arrived early but its spread is extremely unpredictable.

Although it is known as the winter vomiting bug, it can be caught all year round. Scientists say it is more prevalent in colder, wetter months because people spend more time closer together indoors.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2238630/Winter-vomiting-bug-cases-52-cent-compared-year.html#ixzz2DQvIRWKw

Syrian rebels destroy Assad’s radar station facing Israel

In a resounding blow to the combat capabilities of Bashar Assad’s army against external enemies, Syrian rebels destroyed their most important electronic warning radar station facing Israel – M-1 – Monday, Nov. 26, DEBKAfile reports exclusively from its military sources.

This Russian-built station monitored Israeli warplanes' takeoff and landing activities at air bases in the Negev and Hatzerim in the south and tracked them up to the Syrian border. The facility was designed to guide Syrian missiles targeting any point on the Israeli map, in sync with air defense facilities south of Damascus and on the Golan Heights. 

The radar’s range also covered naval movements in Mediterranean waters off the shores of Israel and Lebanon.

Western military sources told DEBKAfile that the destruction of this vital facility has blinded the two eyes which Syrian air, air defense and missile forces had trained on Israel. It has therefore crippled, though not completely dismantled, Bashar Assad’s ability to got to war against Israel, Jordan or Saudi Arabia.
M-1 radar also swept all parts of Jordan and northern Saudi Arabia where the important Tabuk air base is situated. Deployed there in addition to the Saudi Air Force are French fighter-bombers ready to go to war against Syria.

M-1 also relayed current data on Israeli military movements to Hizballah and would have been a vital source of intelligence in a potential Lebanese Shiites offensive against the Jewish state.

The Syrian ruler and his spokesmen have frequently threatened since the eruption of the popular insurrection that if Assad had his back to the wall, the entire Middle East would go up in flames, especially Israel.

In the last two days, the Syrian rebels have made additional gains: They were able to capture areas abutting on the Jordanian border, excepting only the Ramtha border crossing. They also seized the Marj al-Sultan military air field southeast of Damascus and adjoining Syrian Army 4th Brigade bases.
Most of the men of the 82nd Infantry Brigade guarding M-1 were killed in the fighting, fled or were taken prisoner.

Our military sources notes that after M-1, the Assad regime still retains two key radar stations: M-2 in Shanshar south of Homs, which covers central and northern Syria; and M-3 near Latakia which keeps an eye on the northern region up to the Turkish border and the eastern Mediterranean up to Cyprus.
All three radar stations were linked to the Syrian general staff, air force, air defense, missile and navy operations rooms and fed them the essential real-time intelligence data needed for decision-making at the highest level. However, the loss of M-1 seriously hampers the Syria army’s capacity to take on Israel or Jordan.




DEBKA file

Russia to make new super silent torpedoes?

The appearance of a new submarine, especially a nuclear-powered cruiser equipped with missiles, is always an outstanding event, since it represents the security of a country. How can one make it as invulnerable as possible and not too expensive at the same time? It turns out that it is not that hard: the submarine only needs to be outfitted with silent weapons.

The shipyards of Sevmash have already built two serial underwater cruisers of the 955th type (Borei) - Yury Dolgoruky and Alexander Nevsky before. Presently, the company is building another sub of this project - Vladimir Monomakh. Afterwards, there will be a fourth strategic cruiser of this series - St. Nicholas. In total, according to the weapons program before 2017, it is planned to build eight submarines of this type to thus completely renovate the Russian fleet of strategic submarine.

Of course, such submarines are very expensive, and all of us would really like to see them equal or superior to similar subs of the United States, Britain, France and China in terms of performance. The noise factor is especially important at this point, since it is the noise of the submarine that makes it easy to detect.

Everything on board submarines makes noise. Noise is produced by pumps that push the water through the contours of the nuclear reactor, by steam turbines, electric motors and even by the water propeller. Weapon systems of the submarine make a lot of noise too. Missiles, torpedoes and cruise missiles are very noisy when they are being launched. Everything that makes all this noise, unmasks the submarine and a helps the potential enemy find and destroy it.

But is it possible to create such a weapon that would be highly effective and absolutely silent at the same time? It turns out that it is possible, especially for deep-water submarines. Large submersion depths, such as one kilometer, like of the K-278 Komsomolets submarine, serves as a measure of security and protection from anti-submarine weapons - at least, the existing ones.

However, launching missiles and torpedoes from such depth is quite problematic not to mention the fact that missiles and torpedoes roar so loudly under the water that detecting them at a distance is an easy nut to crack.

However, creating a fundamentally new and also totally silent weapon for deep-water submarines is not so hard. Imagine something like a large deep-water bomb in a tear-drop case with cross-like rudders at the stern and a massive released cargo at the nose. Containers with such shells are placed on the bottom of the sub, because the sub shoots them "underneath itself." The new type of weapons that can be called as follows: "gravitational self-propelled projectile," or, for short, GSPP.

Approaching a target at a great depth, an aircraft carrier for example, the submarine gets ready for attack, the control system of a projectile receives data on the speed, the course of a target and a distance to it. All parameters of the trajectory are calculated, the projectile is discharged and starts to sink. In this case, naturally, a projectile gains a certain speed. At this very moment, the rudders of the projectile change its trajectory towards the target. The shell continues to sink, but it approaches the target, almost silently, because it does not have an active engine.

When the projectile reaches a certain point of the trajectory, the system discharges the ballast. The ballast drowns and immediately begins to surface, but again, it moves towards the surface along the trajectory guided by the rudders, and thus covers a long distance, as the on-board computer calculates it as horizontal as possible.

Finally, closer to the enemy ship, the homing guidance system is activated, possibly together with an engine that will provide high accuracy. That's it! The enemy's vessel is thus struck from underneath, where every surface ship is most vulnerable. The trajectory of the projectile in the direction of the target will be reminiscent of a silhouette of a house with the roof ridge upside down.

It would also be possible to develop a fundamentally new type of small deep-water submarine for this type of weapon. A small size means that the sub will not be too expensive, and it would be possible to build many of such submarines. In addition, it will not have missiles on board, so the price would be relatively low. Finally, just because the new sub would be quiet, they would pose a serious threat to any aircraft carriers.
Pravda

Russian military to conduct surveillance flight over US

Russian Defense Ministry has announced that the country’s military inspectors will begin a survey flight this week above the United States under the international Treaty on Open Skies.

The experts will conduct the flight over the US territory in a Tupolev Tu-154 M/LK-1 aircraft between November 25 and December 3, RIA Novosti news agency reported.

The surveillance flight will start from the Travis Air Force Base in California, and its maximum range will be 4,250 kilometers (2,600 miles).

During the flight, Russian and US specialists will operate surveillance equipment on board of the aircraft as stated in the Treaty on Open Skies.

The Treaty on Open Skies entered into force on January 1, 2002, and currently has 34 member states.

It establishes a program of unarmed aerial surveillance flights over the entire territory of its participants.

The treaty is designed to enhance mutual understanding and confidence by giving all participants a direct role in gathering information about military forces and activities of concern to them.



PressTV

Gas tanker Ob River attempts first winter Arctic crossing

A large tanker carrying liquified natural gas (LNG) is set to become the first ship of its type to sail across the Arctic.

The carrier, Ob River, left Norway in November and has sailed north of Russia on its way to Japan.

The specially equipped tanker is due to arrive in early December and will shave 20 days off the regular journey.

The owners say that changing climate conditions and a volatile gas market make the Arctic transit profitable.Long-term preparation

Built in 2007 with a strengthened hull, the Ob River can carry up to 150,000 cubic metres of gas. The tanker was loaded with LNG at Hammerfest in the north of Norway on 7 November and set sail across the Barents Sea. It has been accompanied by a Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker for much of its voyage.

You are able to reach a highly profitable market by saving forty percent of the distance, that's forty percent less fuel used as well”Tony LauritzenDynagas

The ship, with an international crew of 40, has been chartered from its Greek owners Dynagas by the Russian Gazprom energy giant. It says it has been preparing for the trip for over a year.

"It's an extraordinarily interesting adventure," Tony Lauritzen, commercial director at Dynagas, told BBC News.

Protest over Morsi 'power grab' turns deadly