World News Thread & Breaking News!!

[AssassinsMace]

They're already spinning back on the pivot. Any talk of a NATO for Asia is more a fantasy for the wishful thinkers. Asia is not like Europe. Obama's mistake is he was arrogant enough to think he can herd cats. Petty nationalism rules Asia and that how it's been for centuries. Everyone else in Asia wasn't surprise that Filipino forces killed an unarmed fisherman over territorial claims. Obama was surprised that countries not involving China would have problems with one another. Japan boldly making revisionist comments like they've never done before since their surrender shows Obama carelessly didn't entertain the macro ramifications of his pivot against China.

Teasing an arms race hasn't had the intended effect either. It might be one of those absurdities of taunting China and then actually expecting China not to respond in kind. Just look at how China's hypersonic test is treated like China violated the law. Oh... the pressure thing again thinking China would yield under it. Notice a nuclear arms race hasn't been talked about much? It's been pretty much all a conventional "Cold War." Japan going nuclear will most likely spur South Korea to go nuclear and not because of fear of China. North Korea will most likely gain support from China. Everyone will have their own nuclear policy and not one under the US's control. China will of course make plenty more especially if there were an Asian NATO. How many countries want to be nuked by China because they become a legitimate target regardless if they don't have nukes since being part of a NATO-type alliance? And when you have Japan and the Philippines exploiting US protection to poke China in the eye, how would another country in a military alliance feel that they can get attacked or even nuked for that?

The US, Japan, and South Korea were suppose to be in an unofficial trilateral alliance and then Japanese nationalism reared its ugly head offending South Korea. I read that the US got South Korea back on board and then NHK made those comfort women comments. Last week John Kerry declared the US will defend Japan against China and then NHK charges the Nanking Massacre was a lie. See a pattern?

 

[joshuatree]

Pretty significant shift, if true.
Looks like chinas cooperation with SK on North Korea, their continuing economic relationship, along with Abe spitting in both their faces has built enough goodwill and trust for at least more substantial military intelligence cooperation.

This can only be a good thing for the Korea peninsula, for when the north eventually rolls over, greater coordination between SK and china will be essential to avoid a shooting conflict between the two.
Of course, a china friendly South Korea also benefits china as such a stance makes it less likely to join any westpac NATO, and it keeps the pressure on Japan too. Although on the latter point Abe has done more to help china and South Korea move together than any prior factor

If this gains any traction, it would be significant. If China and SK cooperates closer in military matters, it could nudge NK to play nicer as it will realize it has no allies around it anymore. It could weaken US-SK military relations, especially in the area of intelligence if the US fears whatever they share with SK gets leaked to China. It would definitely make a SK-Japan intelligence pact even more remote as SK would have no interest in containing China and it's sharing intel with China would give SK more intel on NK via China.

 

[Air Force Brat]

Coming from a US person with position sounds surreal. It's so easy to take cheap shots at China using the Nazi analogy that many people could be misled. Words like death star and bogeyman had been used before. The US General's words shoud put things into perspective before the media can make it into a meme.

Well, that's old school USAF talking, a guy who's been there and done that, he also has a word of caution about the recently established ADIZ, and a warning that if the PRC were to establish a South China Sea Adiz that would be very provocative. This is a man who is good at what he does, as a squadron leader sheparding the F-22 solutions, he checked out in and began flying missions in the F-22 and vowed to fly it until it was fixed!

 

[bd popeye]

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PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Assailants threw grenades into a crowded movie theater in northwestern Pakistan, killing 11 people, officials said, in an attack that shows the challenges as negotiators face off in talks between the Taliban and the government.

One of the grenades blew up the main door, and two more exploded inside the theater as about 80 people were watching a movie called "Yarana," which means friendship in Pashto, officials said. The floor of the cinema was streaked with blood while some of the seats were torn from the force of the explosion.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which occurred in Peshawar, a city near restive areas on the Afghan border that are home to Pakistani Taliban and al-Qaida-linked foreign Islamic militants. Many Sunni Muslim militant groups view movies and other forms of entertainment as obscene Western influences.

 

[TerraN_EmpirE]

10 February 2014 Last updated at 23:36 ET
EU agrees to launch negotiations with Cuba
The European Union has agreed to launch negotiations with Cuba aimed at restoring full bilateral relations with the Communist-run island.
The talks, which could begin as soon as next month, will try to increase trade and investment, and include a dialogue on human rights, officials said.
Since 1996, the EU has restricted its ties with Cuba to encourage multi-party democracy and progress on human rights.
The bloc is Cuba's second-biggest trading partner after Venezuela.
It represents a major source of investment, and hundreds of thousands of European tourists visit the island every year.
'Vote of confidence'
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton stressed that human rights remained "at the core" of its dealings with Cuba.
"These negotiations will help consolidate our engagement with Cuba," she said. "I hope Cuba will take up this offer."
The announcement comes with Cuba engaged in an economic and social reform process launched by President Raul Castro.
The EU ambassador to Havana, Herman Portocarero, said the talks came in response to "serious" changes in Cuba.
"It is to some extent a vote of confidence in the reforms and that the new realities in Cuban society are irreversible, and that we want to be on board," Mr Portocarero told the BBC.
"We hope to promote a future model of Cuban society which is closer to European values."
But he added that the EU had a number of "red lines" in order for the relations to be normalised. These included such issues as human rights and the possibility for civil society groups to have legal status.
The move indicates the most important diplomatic shift since the EU lifted sanctions against Cuba in 2008.
It follows the visit by Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans to Cuba in January. During his trip, Mr Timmermans called on the EU to change its policy toward the island.
He said the best way to promote change was through dialogue, not isolation.
In 1996, the EU agreed on a set of rules governing its relations with Cuba, called the Common Position.
It states that the EU's objective is "to encourage a process of transition to a pluralist democracy and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, as well as sustainable recovery and improvement in the living standards of the Cuban people".
Despite the policy, more than half of EU member states have bilateral agreements with Cuba.
Cuba has rejected the Common Position, arguing that it constitutes an interference in its internal affairs.

Majority of Americans Favor Ties With Cuba, Poll Finds
By RICK GLADSTONEFEB. 10, 2014


After more than a half-century of official United States hostility toward Cuba punctuated by a comprehensive trade embargo, a majority of Americans — and an even greater majority of Floridians, home to this country’s largest Cuban-American population — now favor normalizing relations or engaging more directly with the Cuban government, according to a nonpartisan survey.

The results of the survey, commissioned by the Atlantic Council, a prominent Washington research institution, and released on Tuesday, were described by the group as an unprecedented reflection of shifting American attitudes toward Cuba that confound some long-held assumptions, particularly about Cuban-American antipathy toward the government of Raúl Castro.

The results also come against a backdrop of increasing sentiment in Florida and elsewhere that the American economic and political isolation of Cuba, one of the most enduring elements of United States foreign policy, not only has failed to satisfy its purpose of unseating the Castro government but may even be helping to perpetuate it.

“This survey shows that the majority of Americans on both sides of the aisle are ready for a policy shift,” Peter Schechter and Jason Marczak, the top two executives at the Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center of the Atlantic Council, wrote in an introduction to the survey. “Most surprisingly, Floridians are even more supportive than an already supportive nation to incrementally or fully change course.”

While the survey showed that Americans have concerns about the Cuban government’s political repression, Mr. Schechter and Mr. Marczak said, they “recognize the need for alternatives in light of the failure of the current policy to achieve its objective.”

The survey found that 56 percent of respondents nationwide favor changing Cuba policy, a majority that jumps to 63 percent among Florida adults and 62 percent among Latinos nationwide. While support is strongest among Democrats and independents, the survey showed 52 percent of Republicans also favor normalization.

Narrower surveys have also shown that increasing numbers of Floridians want normalized relations with Cuba, but Mr. Schechter and Mr. Marczak said they believed their survey was the first to show that Florida leads the nation in that regard.

The survey found that the economic cost to the United States of maintaining the trade embargo with Cuba, a nation of 11 million, was a major reason a majority want to normalize ties. More than six in 10 respondents nationwide want the policy changed to enable American companies to do business in Cuba and permit Americans unfettered freedom to travel and spend money there.

Fifty-two percent also said Cuba should be deleted from the United States government’s list of countries that are considered state sponsors of terrorism, the others being Iran, Syria and Sudan. The designation automatically restricts the type of trade and other interactions Americans can have with Cuba. Although the Obama administration has loosened some of the restraints on travel and the ability of Cuban-Americans to send money to Cuba, most types of trade and investment are forbidden.

Conducted by telephone and cellphone in English and Spanish from Jan. 7 to Jan. 22, the survey was based on responses from 1,024 randomly selected adults, with oversamples of 617 Florida residents and 525 Latinos. The nationwide margin of error was plus or minus 3 percentage points; for Florida residents and for Latinos it was plus or minus 4 percentage points.

The survey was done by a partnership of Paul Maslin, a Democratic public opinion expert, and Glen Bolger, a leading Republican political strategist and pollster.

The American policy aimed at ostracizing Cuba is widely viewed around the world as an irrelevant throwback to the Cold War era. Just on Monday, the European Union agreed to begin negotiations with Cuba to increase investment and trade.

Cuba trust yet verify.

 

[Jeff Head]

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The would-be suicide bombers were all at an Iraqi camp, presumably huddled around their commander, learning how to blow themselves up amid a crowd of people, when their teacher accidentally obliterated his own crowd, injuring 15 and ending the lives of 22.

The instructor was unnamed in a New York Times report, so little is known about the man other than he failed to realize his bomb belt was chock full of live explosives before showing his students how to detonate it. According to reports, all the students were and are members of a group called the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, an Al Qaeda faction that has been at war with the Iraqi army throughout the country's Anbar Province for years. After the blast, eight militants were arrested while trying to get away.

 

[TerraN_EmpirE]

OMG, life initiated art. Jeff Dunham used as a joke with, Achmed the dead terrorists a punch line about a idiot who tried to practice suicide bombing at a suicide bomber training camp.
the irony on this story is so rich.

 

[bd popeye]

My condolences to the families of the victims of this accident.

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(CNN) -- One person survived the crash of a military plane Tuesday in the mountains of eastern Algeria that left at least 77 others dead, a spokeswoman for the country's Civil Protection office said.

The spokeswoman, who could not give her name in line with protocol, said there were a total of 78 people on board the plane. The man who survived has head injuries and was taken to a hospital, she added.

The Hercules C-130 was carrying members of the Algerian air force and their families, according to several media outlets in Algeria.

Initial reports on the crash gave conflicting numbers, with some saying 103 people were on board the aircraft and as many as 100 had died. Others cited 52 deaths and more than two dozen missing.

The plane was flying from Tamanrasset in southern Algeria to Constantine in the east, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

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[Jeff Head]

OMG, life initiated art. Jeff Dunham used as a joke with, Achmed the dead terrorists a punch line about a idiot who tried to practice suicide bombing at a suicide bomber training camp.
the irony on this story is so rich.

It could not have happened to a more desrving bunch of people.

The "instructor," died along with 21 of his "students." The other 15 members of the "class" were all severely injured.

I agree 100% with the one Iraqi in the New York Times report of the same story who said,

"Too bad more of these animals did not die in this. There is no telling how many hundreds of innocent people this has saved from those who were being taught to kill others."

 

[delft]

Pretty significant shift, if true.
Looks like chinas cooperation with SK on North Korea, their continuing economic relationship, along with Abe spitting in both their faces has built enough goodwill and trust for at least more substantial military intelligence cooperation.

This can only be a good thing for the Korea peninsula, for when the north eventually rolls over, greater coordination between SK and china will be essential to avoid a shooting conflict between the two.
Of course, a china friendly South Korea also benefits china as such a stance makes it less likely to join any westpac NATO, and it keeps the pressure on Japan too. Although on the latter point Abe has done more to help china and South Korea move together than any prior factor



FM calls for military intelligence pact with China

SEOUL, Feb. 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korea should consider forging a pact with China on sharing military intelligence as part of efforts to boost mutual trust, Seoul's top diplomat said Monday.

"There is a need to review the necessity (for a South Korea-China military information sharing pact,)" Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se said during a parliamentary interpellation session.

Yun made the remarks in response to ruling Saenuri Party lawmaker Song Young-keun's question of whether the two neighbors need a military pact for the purpose of promoting bilateral trust.

"South Korea and China have been cooperating in a variety of sectors since the launch of the new (Park Geun-hye) government last year, including in the defense segment," the foreign minister noted.

South Korea's previous attempt to sign the military intelligence sharing pact with Japan was suspended in mid-2012 as the government's steps taken secretly to forge the sensitive pact with the former colonial ruler inflamed public sentiment.

Meanwhile, South Korea is bracing for the possibility of a military skirmish between China and Japan over their disputed islands in the East China Sea, Yun also said, referring to the set of outcroppings called Senkaku in Japan or Diaoyu in China.

Recent remarks by the leaders of Asian neighbors have indicated the possibility of a military skirmish over the China-Japan military dispute, the minister said, adding that "We are also making all sorts of preparations (against that possibility.)"

Yun also said Seoul is reviewing various measures to resolve the diplomatic standoff with Tokyo, indicating Japan should first demonstrate sincerity toward resolving history-related issues with South Korea before any high-level talks between the two neighbors could resume.

"The biggest obstacle (in mending bilateral ties) is the Shinzo Abe government's revisionist remarks and behavior," he said. "In order for the two countries to have higher level talks, we need sincere measures from the Japanese side."

The Seoul-Tokyo ties have been severely frayed as of late, as the nationalist Shinzo Abe administration's remarks and actions aimed at whitewashing and glorifying its past wartime aggression drove a wedge between the neighbors.

South Korea, a major victim of Japan's imperialist atrocities during World II, has bitterly lamented the recent nationalist actions from Japan, including Abe's respect-paying visit in December to the Yasukuni war shrine, which honors World War II criminals along with other Japanese war dead.

Seoul has indefinitely delayed holding the first summit meeting between President Park Geun-hye and Abe amid the icy relations with Tokyo, with Park nearing her one-year anniversary of taking office.

Copyright Yonhap News Agency, 2014. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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In the end the best solution is Korean reunification under the formula one country, two systems. The German reunification led to massive poverty in the East and huge costs to the West. That is not something to imitate. This would effectively protect Korea and China from Japanese adventurism. Sharing military intelligence might well be a step in that direction.