China Warns Of "Looming Trade War" With India In Retaliation To Anti-Dumping Duties

One of the more under-reported stories - at least among the Western press - are the growing tension between China and India. As reported over the weekend, in the latest escalation, Indian and Chinese soldiers, in addition to the ongoing tense military standoff over a contested road in Doklam, were involved in an altercation in the western Himalayas on Tuesday, further raising tensions between the two countries which are already locked in a two-month standoff in another part of the disputed border. A widely circulated clip on social media showed many soldiers from the two countries punching and kicking each other and throwing stones, a clash which luckily ended before it could devolve into something far more dangerous.

Meanwhile, in addition to a territorial dispute that has the potential to devolve into a shooting skirmish at any moment as thousands of troops have amassed on both sides of the border, a trade war also seems to be looming between India and China after New Delhi imposed anti-dumping duties on 93 Chinese products amidst a military standoff in Doklam area, India's First Post reported last week.

The Indian publication cites an article in China's state-owned Global Times, which urged Chinese firms to "reconsider the risks" of investing in India and warned New Delhi to be "prepared for the possible consequences for its ill-considered action." The article said that China "could easily retaliate" with restrictions on Indian products, but added that it "doesn't make much economic sense" for the country.

Making a less than subtle hint that a trade war would have damaging consequences on the Indian economy, the Global Times cited figures from the Indian embassy in China to show that Indian exports fell by 12.3% year-on-year to $11.75 billion while India's imports from China rose by 2% to $59 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $47 billion. Meanwhile, according to the Indian Commerce Ministry, the trade deficit with China last year mounted to over $52 billion when the bilateral trade stood at $70 billion.

Dispensing with diplomacy, the Chinese publication warned that "a trade war between China and India seems to be looming after the latter moved last Wednesday to impose anti-dumping duties on 93% from China," and added that "if India really starts a trade war with China, of course China's economic interests will be hurt, but there will also be consequences for India." 

Meanwhile, the Global Times also took a swipe at the ongoing military standoff in Doklam in the Sikkim sector where India has protested the construction of a road by the Chinese military in the area claimed by its ally Bhutan, fearing it would allow Beijing to cut off India's access to its northeastern states. The Global Times report strongly cautioned India that "given the tense bilateral trade ties, China may consider temporarily suspending investment or economic cooperation projects in India to ensure the security of these investments."

A separate article in China Daily likewise warned that boycotting Chinese goods would harm India's economy.  Referring to the calls of boycott of Chinese products, it said the ongoing standoff in Doklam seems to have spilled over into bilateral exchanges.

"Suffice to say, calling for the boycotting of Chinese products and those related to Chinese investors is not just a fool's errand but also risks backfiring," it said and added that "it is the Indian economy that will suffer because of the boycott," it said. The editorial concluded that any attempt to keep Chinese cellphone companies at bay or shut down Chinese-invested factories will hurt the Indian economy and cost Indian jobs.

Separately, on Monday China expressed "strong dissatisfaction" with the U.S. decision announced on Friday to probe its intellectual-property practices and pledged to respond if needed. China's Commerce Ministry said that the U.S. "is irresponsible because it’s conducting the review under domestic laws and disregarding World Trade Organization rules." It also said that "the accusations against China aren’t objective and the probe sends the wrong signal as the countries are already making progress on separate negotiations", adding that the international community and U.S. industries will oppose the investigation.

The Commerce Ministry said the U.S. should work with China to press ahead on the one-year economic cooperation plan and keep bilateral economic ties on a healthy and stable track. It urged the U.S. to respect multilateral trade rules and act prudently, adding that the country will monitor the probe’s progress and take appropriate measures to defend China’s rights.

Going back to the latest spat between China and India, while it is still early to make a determination on how this latest trade escalation between the world's two fastest growing economies will be resolved, the troubling reality that China may soon - in a worst case scenario - find itself engaged in trade war on two fronts, with both the US and India, would have significant adverse consequences not only for the Chinese economy but would lead to another negative shock for the entire world, something which we doubt that central bankers are even remotely contemplating as they finalize their Jackson Hole speeches this Friday.

Credit to Zero Hedge

Erdogan let his hatred for Angela Merkel fly over when he urged Turkish Germans not to vote for her re-election.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan let his hatred for German Chancellor Angela Merkel fly over the weekend when he urged Turkish Germans not to vote for her re-election.

After strengthening his nation’s relationship with Russia, and promising to do the same with Iran, the head of NATO’s largest member state in Western Asia has continued to increase tensions within the North Atlantic Alliance. The U.S.-Turkish relationship began fraying during the Obama administration, but Erdogan’s outright disdain for Merkel dates back even farther.

It boiled over Friday, when he said:

"I am calling on all my countrymen in Germany: the Christian Democrats, SDP, the Green Party are all enemies of Turkey. Support those political parties who are not enemies of Turkey."

"I call on them not to vote for those parties who have been engaged in such aggressive, disrespectful attitudes against Turkey, and I invite them to teach a lesson to those political parties at the ballot box."

Germans head to the polls in a little over a month to vote for new government leadership. Merkel is seeking a fourth term as chancellor and her Christian Democratic Union has a monumental lead over its biggest rival, the Social Democratic Party.

Even if Merkel were to lose the election, it’s highly unlikely she would be replaced by someone who is friendlier to Turkey. The three parties of the government coalition—Merkel’s CDU, the SDP, and the Christian Social Union of Bavaria—hold 502 of the 630 seats in the Bundestag.

Erdogan has long wanted Turkey to join the European Union, but has been blocked by Merkel’s government. Additional efforts to deepen Turkish-EU ties have also been blocked by the Germans. The final straw was when Merkel became a frequent vocal critic of Erdogan’s crackdown following last year’s failed coup.

Credit to Trunews

Russia's Nuclear Shield: From World's First ICBM to 'Dead Hand' System

The Russian "doomsday machine" continues to safeguard the country's sovereignty and national interests, RIA Novosti contributor Alexander Khrolenko writes, shedding light on how Perimeter, an automatic nuclear-control system dubbed 'Dead Hand,' actually works.


Exactly 60 years ago the world's first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) took to the skies from the Soviet cosmodrome Baikonur. According to Alexander Khrolenko, it was the first step on the way to creating Russia's nuclear shield.

"The R-7 [the NATO reporting name SS-6 Sapwood] designers managed to launch the missile on the third attempt on August 21, 1957; the rocket traveled a distance of 5,600 kilometers [3,480 mi] and delivered a warhead to the Kura proving ground," the commentator wrote.

"Six days later the USSR officially announced that it had an operational ICBM — a year earlier than the United States did," Khrolenko pointed out, "Thus, the Soviet Union dramatically expanded its security perimeter."



© SPUTNIK/ SERGEI MALGAVKO
'Dead Hand', Bunkers and Missile Shield: This is How Russia Can Survive Potential Nuclear Attack

However, the USSR and its legal successor, the Russian Federation, continued to move forward and improve its nuclear shield.

Today, Russia's most powerful ICBM R-36M2 Voyevoda (SS-18 Mod 5) is capable of carrying 10 combat units with a capacity of 170 kilotons to a distance of up to 15,000 kilometers (9,320 mi), Khrolenko highlighted.

But that is not all: the ICBM's algorithms for combat use have been improved. In addition, the domestic nuclear deterrent system which is comprised of land, sea and aerial means of delivery of nuclear charges has become even more complicated.

Today, Russia's nuclear triad guarantees the annihilation of a potential aggressor under any circumstances, the journalist stressed.

"Russia is capable of launching a retaliatory atomic strike even in the event of the death of the country's top leadership," he elaborated, referring to the famous Perimeter System, also known as the Dead Hand, which was developed in the Soviet Union in the early 1970s.

The concept came as a response to the US strategic doctrine of a "decapitation strike" aimed at destroying a hostile country's leadership in order to degrade its capacity for nuclear retaliation.

"This system duplicated the functions of a command post automatically triggering the launch of the Russian nuclear missiles if the country's leadership was destroyed by a nuclear strike," Leonid Ivashov, president of the Academy of Geopolitical Problems, explained in his interview with the Russian newspaper Vzglyad.



© PHOTO: MINISTRY OF DEFENCE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
'Wonder-Weapon': High-Precision Kalibr Has Yet Again Proven Its Efficiency (VIDEO)

Perimeter took up combat duty in January 1985 and in subsequent years the defense system had ensured the country's safety, monitoring the situation and maintaining control over thousands of its nuclear warheads.

So, how does the system work?

"Whilst on duty, stationary and mobile control centers [of the system] are assessing seismic activity, radiation level, air pressure and temperature; monitoring military radio frequencies and registering the intensity of communications; keeping a close watch on missile early warning system data," Khrolenko elaborated.

After analyzing these and other data, the system can autonomously make a decision about a retaliatory nuclear attack in case the country's leadership is unable to activate the combat regime.

© SPUTNIK/ VLADIMIR FEDORENKO
Launching an RS-20 Voyevoda (SS-18 Satan) intercontinental ballistic missile (File)

"Having detected the signs of a nuclear strike, Perimeter sends a request to the General Staff," the journalist explained, "Having received a 'calming' response, it returns to the mode of analysis of the situation."

However, if the General Staff's line is dead Perimeter will immediately request the strategic "Kazbek" missile control system. If "Kazbek" doesn't respond either, Perimeter's autonomous control and command system — which is based on artificial intelligence software — will make a decision to retaliate.

"It can accurately 'understand' that its time has come," Khrolenko noted, stressing that there is no way to neutralize, shut down or destroy the Perimeter system.

"It is no coincidence that Western military analysts dubbed the system 'Dead Hand'," the journalist remarked.



© AFP 2017/ ALEXANDER NEMENOV
Think Twice: Topol-M Nuclear ICBMs Safeguarding Russia

After the end of the Cold War, the Russian "doomsday machine" was removed from combat duty in 1995.

However, "the United States and its allies did not appreciate this gesture of goodwill of the leadership of the Russian Federation, and began to actively create the world of 'American exceptionalism', with NATO proceeding to move closer to Russian borders," Khrolenko pointed out.

Thus, in December 2011 the commander of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces, Sergei Karakaev, announced in an interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda that the Perimeter system was up and running again.

"It's worth mentioning that Russia also has the equally powerful Oceanic Multi-Purpose Status-6 System equipped with warheads with a capacity of 100 megatons and, possibly, many other systems unknown to the general public," Khrolenko concluded.




Credit to Sputnik

Top 5 Divine Signs From Heaven

“By the word of Hashem the heavens were made, by the breath of His mouth, all their host.” Psalms 33:6 (The Israel Bible™)






As a rare and portentous total solar eclipse approaches the North American continent on Monday, heaven-watchers the world over will hold their breath in anticipation of a divine event written in the skies and reflected in the world of men. The event signals the beginning of the month of Elul, the last month of the Hebrew year, and the start of the days of repentance. Jews the world over will prepare to face their Maker on the upcoming holy days of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur as the momentous year 5777 draws to a close.

This Hebrew calendar year was full of signs from above: from eclipses to comets, from the birth of new stars to the discovery of new planets, the heavens drew aside the divine veil to reveal that God’s control of the universe is eternal and abiding. Many religious leaders and respected Jewish thinkers understood these rare and exciting events to correspond to ancient texts, prophecies and portents of the world to come.

On the eve of the highly-anticipated solar eclipse, Breaking Israel News took a look back at the biggest astronomical events of the year and what they mean for the Jewish people and the nations.

1. 100-Year-Old Jewish Prophecy Predicts Solar Eclipse Portends Destruction of North Korea

(Breaking Israel News)

In one of the biggest stories of the year, Breaking Israel News discovered a prophetic connection between the upcoming total solar eclipse, traversing North America on August 21, and the rise of tensions between the US and North Korea by bringing to light a 100-year-old prophecy foretelling that a solar eclipse occurring in the beginning of the Hebrew month of Elul will bring with it suffering for the “Kings of the East”. The prophecy, coming at a time of escalating nuclear threats between President Donald Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un, seemed to point directly to Jong-Un as the “eastern King” soon to be deposed. Other Jewish understandings of the eclipse saw in it a warning to the Jews and the nations, as mystic thought holds that Jews are represented by the moon and the nations are represented by the sun. Rabbi Lazar Brody said that the eclipse, only visible over America, was a warning to Americans lapsing into moral abomination, while Rabbi Pinchas Winston told Breaking Israel News it was a call for righteous Christians in the US to repent and for Jewish Americans to come to Israel.

2. Stunning Research Reveals Incredible Alignment of Holy Tabernacle and Celestial Movements

(Shutterstock)

An engineer’s unique understanding of the Holy Tabernacle’s construction led him to the stunning revelation that the dimensions of the Tabernacle as described in the Bible unmistakably correlated to significant astronomical measurements such as the lengths of planetary orbits and lunar years. The discovery reflected an ancient Jewish belief that the Tabernacle in the desert was the pivotal point of connection between heaven and earth, God and man, spiritual and material. In fact, Rabbi Yosef Berger noted, the Tabernacle was made in a process which mirrored Creation itself, enabling man, tied to a physical existence, to access higher dimensions of holiness on Earth.

3. Astonishing Astral Confluence Sees Eclipse, Full Moon and Comet on Jewish Holiday

(Shutterstock)

Also in February, three astronomical events converged on a Shabbat which also happened to be a Jewish holiday, Tu B’Shvat, an arboreal celebration of the changing seasons. A penumbra lunar eclipse, the “snow moon” – a full moon in February – and the passing of a comet all appeared in the skies within a few hours of each other. Israeli amateur astronomer Ira Machefsky pointed out that Tu B’Shvat is a holiday with particular astrological significance, as it marks the midway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox.

4. NASA Discovery of 7-Planet System Conforms Exactly to Zohar’s Description of Pre-Messiah “Nibiru”

This artist’s concept shows what each of the TRAPPIST-1 planets may look like, based on available data about their sizes, masses and orbital distances. (Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech)

After Nibiru, a catastrophic planet-sized object whose collision with earth was predicted by more than one Jewish scholar in 2016, failed to appear, the subject lost traction for many who follow the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. However, when NASA announced it had discovered a seven-planet star system in February of 2017, one Nibiru expert pointed out to Breaking Israel News that the discovery conformed precisely to the Zohar’s description of the foretold astronomic event precipitating the Messiah: “A star will rise up on the east, blazing in all colors, and seven other stars will surround that star.” He identified the new star and its seven planets as Nibiru, or “Planet X.”

5. New Star to Appear in Night Sky, Heralding Balaam’s Prophecy of Messiah

(Shutterstock)

When scientists announced that an ancient collision would appear in a blaze of light in 2022, revealing a brand-new star in a stunning celestial event witnessed by the naked eye for the first time in recorded history, prominent scholar Rabbi Yosef Berger immediately made the connection between the new star and the fulfillment of Balaam’s End-of-Days prophecy, which holds that the appearance of a new star will accompany the coming of the Messiah.

Credit to Breaking Israel News
Read more at https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/93494/eve-total-eclipse-top-five-heavenly-bible-signs-5777/#QchSgYG65izqFYrI.99

The latest escalation in the deteriorating diplomatic relations between the US and Russia

The latest escalation in the deteriorating diplomatic relations between the US and Russia was unveiled this morning, when the US embassy in Russia announced it was scaling back its visa services in Russia after Moscow ordered it to sharply cut its diplomatic staff in retaliation over new U.S. sanctions, and would suspend all non-immigrant visa operations in Russia starting August 23, although visa operations will be resumed on September 1, but only in the main embassy building in Moscow. 

As disclosed in the US embassy statement, "as a result of the Russian government’s personnel cap imposed on the U.S. Mission, all nonimmigrant visa (NIV) operations across Russia will be suspended beginning August 23, 2017.  Visa operations will resume on a greatly reduced scale.  Beginning September 1, nonimmigrant visa interviews will be conducted only at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.... As of 0900 Moscow time Monday, August 21, the U.S. Mission will begin canceling current nonimmigrant visa appointments countrywide. 

The greatly reduced US mission in Russia also said that "the U.S. Embassy in Moscow and three consulates will continue to provide emergency and routine services to American citizens, although hours may change."

"Capacity for interviews in the future will be greatly reduced because we have had to greatly reduce our staffing levels to comply with the Russian government’s requirement," the embassy told applicants in a note on its web site. 

While previously Russian citizens could apply for tourist visas in local US consulates in St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Vladivostok, today's announcement ends this practice, forcing applicants to go to the Russian capital: "NIV interviews at the U.S. Consulates in St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, and Vladivostok are suspended until further notice... The staffing changes will also affect the scheduling of some immigrant visa applicants.  Affected applicants will be contacted if there is a change as to the time and date of their interview."

The move, which will further sour already battered U.S.-Russia relations, means Russian citizens wanting to visit the United States for tourism will no longer be able to apply via U.S. consulates outside Moscow and will have to travel to the Russian capital instead. 

The action comes on the heels of Moscow’s order to cut the American diplomatic corps by 755 people and bring it to the numbers equivalent to Russian diplomatic staff in the US, which is 455 people. To meet the deadline of the Russia’s order, which expires on September 1, the US diplomatic mission has already begun “planning for departures and staff reductions.”

The US embassy in Moscow also condemned Moscow’s decision on the diplomatic staff reduction, saying that it casts doubt on the will to improve the bilateral relations. “Russia’s decision to reduce the United States’ diplomatic presence here calls into question Russia’s seriousness about pursuing better relations,” the embassy statement said.

Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said earlier this month that the United States had issued around 150,000 visas to Russian citizens last year. The U.S. embassy signaled its new scaled back visa regime could be in place for some time. "We will operate at reduced capacity for as long as our staffing levels are reduced," it said. 

Shortly after the announcement, A Russian senator quoted by RIA news agency said that Russia will respond in kind to U.S. visa changes: "New U.S. visa rules for Russians are a demarche", RIA Novosti reported, citing member of Federation Council Andrey Klimov. 

Separately, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the US decision to scale back visa services in Russia was an attempt to stir up ill-feeling among ordinary Russians against the authorities. Lavrov, speaking at a joint news conference in Moscow with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, said that "the American authors of these decisions have come up with another attempt to stir up discontent among Russian citizens about the actions of the Russian authorities. It's a well known logic ... and this it the logic of those who organize color revolutions," Lavrov told reporters.

Lavrov, who said the decision suggested Washington didn't think its reduced diplomatic staff could adapt to new circumstances, said Russia would carefully study the U.S. decision and promised that Moscow would not take out its anger on ordinary U.S. citizens.

Credit to Zero Hedge

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