broadsword
Brigadier
Personally, I like the Pinoys and historically, relations between China and the Philippines have been good. So, I hope the territorial dispute do not boil over.
World News Thread & Breaking News!!
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Personally, I like the Pinoys and historically, relations between China and the Philippines have been good. So, I hope the territorial dispute do not boil over.
bladerunner
Banned Idiot
A interesting POV
Why Russia Smuggles U.S. Electronics
Among all the senior officials, only Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin felt it necessary to respond to the FBI's arrest of former Russian nationals in the United States on charges of illegally exporting advanced electronics to Russia. Although Rogozin denied that any such shipments had occurred, he also said, "If we start saying publicly that we have a shortage of certain imported components, our oxygen will be cut off and their delivery will be cut off." Rogozin effectively admitted that deliveries of contraband do take place.
When the FBI arrested members of a Russian spy ring two years ago, it did not understand what the sleeper agents had been up to for more than a decade other than enjoying their U.S. **u*pper*-*middle-class lifestyles on Russia's tab. This time the situation is far more transparent. Alexander Fishenko and 10 other colleagues who worked at Houston-based Arc Electronics are charged with working as unregistered agents and illegally exporting advanced electronics to Russia. Those components were reportedly used in the targeting systems of modern Russian weapons, avionics for combat aircraft and other projects that the Federal Security Service's secret Military Division 35533 laboratory had ordered.
But it seems that Fishenko and his partners were remarkably careless. According to the FBI, they exchanged candid e-mails with Russian buyers without taking any precautions whatsoever. For example, one Arc employee involved in the illegal exports repeatedly warned a Russian buyer that the equipment he had requested was on a list of products prohibited from export or else required special licensing. At the same time, he openly boasted in e-mails that he knew how to circumvent U.S. export-restriction laws. In addition, other employees openly stated in their correspondence that they had fabricated documents.
The way Russia tries to obtain intelligence and technology says much about the country. More than anything else, the use of sleeper agents showed that the Kremlin and its intelligence agencies were still stuck in 1950s-era thinking, despite the fact that the existence of nuclear weapons made it clear by the 1960s that this type of reconnaissance was unnecessary.
Perhaps, however, there is a better explanation: The intelligence network was set up to launder money for a group of senior Moscow officials. Thus, the illegal network was either set up to satisfy the wildly Cold War-era imperial aspirations of Russia's top brass, or else it was an illegal means of personal enrichment for powerful Russian officials.
Corruption coupled with weak attempts to imitate being a superpower have become the defining features of President Vladimir Putin's 12-year rule.
The current smuggling scandal demonstrates another important aspect of Putin's Russia. According to the FBI, U.S. electronic components were installed in MiG aircraft, air defense systems, anti-ship weaponry and secret electronic devices created by the FSB. This is what marks the fundamental difference between the way Russia carries out industrial espionage today and how it did so under Josef Stalin. Spies working under Stalin obtained the technology behind the components and spent insane amounts of money to manufacture these products domestically. Today, China follows this same pattern, manufacturing knockoffs of Western components.
By contrast, Russia can't pull off what the Chinese have done. Instead, Russia buys contraband electronic components. When these supplies run out, the country simply buys more. Nobody even attempts to manufacture those parts because Russia is incapable of implementing serial production of advanced electronic components in the country. One senior official from the defense sector interviewed by Interfax said 60 to 70 percent — and in some areas, up to 95 percent — of all electronics used in Russia's defense equipment are purchased abroad.
The best explanation for this is that producing it domestically is unprofitable. In the current Russian economy, it makes much more economic sense to have a few dozen firms acting as middlemen to buy the necessary electronics from all over the world — legally or illegally, if necessary.
The much-discussed 20 trillion ruble ($644 billion) rearmament program though 2020 is supposed to finally introduce serial production in the country's military production chain. But sooner or later, it will become evident that the new "advanced weapons" Russia is supposed to produce will be missing the electronics needed to make them work.
Still, does anyone really believe that serial production will ever implemented? Isn't the real goal to embezzle as much money as possible by promising to flood the army with modern equipment? To procure that government funding in the first place, military officials have to demonstrate the occasional "miracle" weapon that functions with the help of smuggled electronics.
Read more:
The Moscow Times
Read more:
The Moscow Times
Why Russia Smuggles U.S. Electronics
Among all the senior officials, only Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin felt it necessary to respond to the FBI's arrest of former Russian nationals in the United States on charges of illegally exporting advanced electronics to Russia. Although Rogozin denied that any such shipments had occurred, he also said, "If we start saying publicly that we have a shortage of certain imported components, our oxygen will be cut off and their delivery will be cut off." Rogozin effectively admitted that deliveries of contraband do take place.
When the FBI arrested members of a Russian spy ring two years ago, it did not understand what the sleeper agents had been up to for more than a decade other than enjoying their U.S. **u*pper*-*middle-class lifestyles on Russia's tab. This time the situation is far more transparent. Alexander Fishenko and 10 other colleagues who worked at Houston-based Arc Electronics are charged with working as unregistered agents and illegally exporting advanced electronics to Russia. Those components were reportedly used in the targeting systems of modern Russian weapons, avionics for combat aircraft and other projects that the Federal Security Service's secret Military Division 35533 laboratory had ordered.
But it seems that Fishenko and his partners were remarkably careless. According to the FBI, they exchanged candid e-mails with Russian buyers without taking any precautions whatsoever. For example, one Arc employee involved in the illegal exports repeatedly warned a Russian buyer that the equipment he had requested was on a list of products prohibited from export or else required special licensing. At the same time, he openly boasted in e-mails that he knew how to circumvent U.S. export-restriction laws. In addition, other employees openly stated in their correspondence that they had fabricated documents.
The way Russia tries to obtain intelligence and technology says much about the country. More than anything else, the use of sleeper agents showed that the Kremlin and its intelligence agencies were still stuck in 1950s-era thinking, despite the fact that the existence of nuclear weapons made it clear by the 1960s that this type of reconnaissance was unnecessary.
Perhaps, however, there is a better explanation: The intelligence network was set up to launder money for a group of senior Moscow officials. Thus, the illegal network was either set up to satisfy the wildly Cold War-era imperial aspirations of Russia's top brass, or else it was an illegal means of personal enrichment for powerful Russian officials.
Corruption coupled with weak attempts to imitate being a superpower have become the defining features of President Vladimir Putin's 12-year rule.
The current smuggling scandal demonstrates another important aspect of Putin's Russia. According to the FBI, U.S. electronic components were installed in MiG aircraft, air defense systems, anti-ship weaponry and secret electronic devices created by the FSB. This is what marks the fundamental difference between the way Russia carries out industrial espionage today and how it did so under Josef Stalin. Spies working under Stalin obtained the technology behind the components and spent insane amounts of money to manufacture these products domestically. Today, China follows this same pattern, manufacturing knockoffs of Western components.
By contrast, Russia can't pull off what the Chinese have done. Instead, Russia buys contraband electronic components. When these supplies run out, the country simply buys more. Nobody even attempts to manufacture those parts because Russia is incapable of implementing serial production of advanced electronic components in the country. One senior official from the defense sector interviewed by Interfax said 60 to 70 percent — and in some areas, up to 95 percent — of all electronics used in Russia's defense equipment are purchased abroad.
The best explanation for this is that producing it domestically is unprofitable. In the current Russian economy, it makes much more economic sense to have a few dozen firms acting as middlemen to buy the necessary electronics from all over the world — legally or illegally, if necessary.
The much-discussed 20 trillion ruble ($644 billion) rearmament program though 2020 is supposed to finally introduce serial production in the country's military production chain. But sooner or later, it will become evident that the new "advanced weapons" Russia is supposed to produce will be missing the electronics needed to make them work.
Still, does anyone really believe that serial production will ever implemented? Isn't the real goal to embezzle as much money as possible by promising to flood the army with modern equipment? To procure that government funding in the first place, military officials have to demonstrate the occasional "miracle" weapon that functions with the help of smuggled electronics.
Read more:
The Moscow Times
Read more:
The Moscow Times
Last edited:
OH MY GOD!!!, A Chinese won the Nobel prize, not base on talking bad about the government!!!!
Ok I now firmly believe in the 2012 Apocalypse.
The end is nigh!!!!
Equation
Lieutenant General
AssassinsMace
Lieutenant General
If the Chinese government are all happy and instructed national media to break the news, they are pathetic. After all the attacks over Liu Xiaobo winning the Nobel Peace Prize... The Nobel Prize committee is obviously doing damage control if they picked a Chinese that isn't critical of China.
plawolf
Lieutenant General
The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded by a different body to the rest of the Nobel Prizes. China is shunning the Nobel Peace Prize because it is a blatant and baseless political tool. All the other Nobel Prizes are award by a more credible body with far more integrity and authority and who awards prizes based on actual merit instead BS as the Peace Prize committee does.
A clear distinction should be made between the real Nobel Prizes and the knock-off that is the Peace Prize.
A clear distinction should be made between the real Nobel Prizes and the knock-off that is the Peace Prize.
AssassinsMace
Lieutenant General
Yes, for example science prizes aren't picked by literature committees. But I'm sure one affects the other regardless if there are seperate entities since Chinese relations with Sweden took a downturn overall.
bladerunner
Banned Idiot
It is not a knock off Nobel prize. It was established by Nobel himself who chose the Norwegian parliament which was dominated by liberals as the trustee and in charge of the award process because he had little faith in the Swedish party is why there are two different bodies handling the awards.
Actually all categories of Nobel awards have had their share of controversies, the main ones being Literature,Economics as well as Peace. With science Nobel sought to reward the individual who made the most contribution towards mankind during the preceding year in either inventions or discoveries, and yet we increasiningly see it awarded for years/lifetime of work with discoveries favoured over inventions.
Actually all categories of Nobel awards have had their share of controversies, the main ones being Literature,Economics as well as Peace. With science Nobel sought to reward the individual who made the most contribution towards mankind during the preceding year in either inventions or discoveries, and yet we increasiningly see it awarded for years/lifetime of work with discoveries favoured over inventions.
solarz
Brigadier
That's great news, I didn't expect him to win, so it came as a surprised for me.
I just learned that this is the guy who wrote "Red Sorghum".
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