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Department of Defense: The Push for Natural Security
by Rosemarie Calvert December 22, 2011 Comments Off on Department of Defense: The Push for Natural Security Features, Lead Story
In the first semester of 2011, natural disasters had a devastating impact on human society. "Preliminary EM-DAT figures showed the occurrence of 108 natural disasters, which killed more than 23,000 people, affected nearly 44 million others and caused more than US $253 billion of economic damages. Sixty-one countries experienced a natural disaster," according to the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) in Brussels, Belgium. The natural disaster that killed the most people (20,319) and that had the greatest estimated economic damage (US $210 billion) was in Japan. However, the natural disaster that affected the most people (22,000,150) was in China. In addition, the tornadoes that impacted the United States in April and May 2011 caused more than 550 deaths, affected nearly 18,000 people and created more than US$14.5 billion in economic damage.
"Despite continuing efforts to make societies more resilient to disasters, a road still lies ahead for both developed and developing countries, as shown by disaster statistics. Disaster data not only inform us on the impact of disasters, but also provide an evidence-base for gauging the effectiveness of disaster risk reduction measures," says CRED Director Debarati Guha-Sapir.
Clearly, natural disasters, caused by either natural factors or human-induced activities, such as climate change, have a strong impact on societies and, therefore, a strong impact on both national and international security. As such, "natural security" is becoming a top priority for organizations like the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the U.S. Department of Defense.
From a defense perspective, this ideology has been primarily focused on energy security. But, thanks to thought leaders such as Sharon E. Burke, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Operational Energy Plans and Programs, and Katherine Hammack, Assistant Secretary of the Army (Installations, Energy & Environment), Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army, this "emerging threat" is now being viewed more holistically.
While Vice President at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) in 2009, Burke authored a Natural Security Working Paper, which helped to change the DoD's outlook on natural capital and national security. According to Burke, "Natural security is a critically important yet underappreciated and underdeveloped facet of U.S. national security. . . . The challenge for the U.S. government will be not only to address natural security challenges, but how to do so in a mutually reinforcing way that builds security." This requires a changing global strategic environment as every nation depends on energy, drinking water and arable land for its populations – access that experts agree is not assured.
"At the same time, increasing consumption of these resources has consequences, such as climate change and biodiversity loss, which will challenge the security of the United States and nations all over the world. Natural security ultimately means sufficient, reliable, affordable and sustainable supplies of natural resources for the modern global economy. This will require the United States to both shape and respond to emerging natural resources challenges in a changing strategic environment," contends Burke.
Climate Change & Its Implications
In 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) findings noted that it is, according to Burke, "'unequivocal' that the climate is and will continue to change and that human generation of greenhouse gases is responsible for most related changes since the 1950s. It is possible that climate change effects will be even more dramatic than currently anticipated.
© iStockphoto.com/TonySoh
"Certainly, a failure to cut greenhouse gas emissions now will mean worse effects later in the century. Recent observations support the contention that climate change estimates have been too low. To the extent that scientists have underestimated climate change, security risks associated with climate change could be worse than anticipated, which will challenge global preparedness. Climate change will affect national security in the broadest sense."
Hammack provides examples of these broad climate-induced national security changes as a result of drought and flooding within the United States. With respect to drought, increased temperatures and reduced rainfall have made forests dry and, therefore, more susceptible to lightning and other fires. She said that Arizona's massive 2011 forest fires were heading toward major lines supplying power from the Palo Verde plant to New Mexico and one of the Army bases. If the installation's power lines had been impacted, it would have caused significant disruption to the base's primary mission.
Other climate-related natural disasters include the recent Missouri and Mississippi River floods. The Assistant Secretary explains that the flooding "certainly made us all much more conscious of the effect that waters and floods can have on our installations. And, although none of our installations were under water, the water came pretty close to them and certainly affected some of our families and our soldiers who are living off base."
Tornadoes were also a major concern for the Army. Hammack comments that "the tornados that cut through parts of the Midwest also were challenges to national security. They brought down power lines, which meant that several of our installations were off-grid and operating on back-up generators." Because back-up generators run on diesel, in most cases, that created another potential vulnerability – making sure enough diesel was on-hand to continue the installation's primary mission.
"So climate does have a huge impact on our mission readiness and is something that we are all aware of and need to ensure that we have appropriate mitigation in place for," says Hammack.
The Vulnerabilities of Energy
Burke maintains that "global dependence on oil, coal and natural gas, and the concentration of supplies in a limited number of countries means that energy resources are associated with geostrategic pressure, instability and vulnerability, including for the U.S. military." This is aptly measured and put to the test via America's increasingly fragile electric grid.
© iStockphoto.com/askinkamberoglu
According to Massoud Amin, PhD, energy professional and electrical engineer from the University of Minnesota's College of Science and Engineering, large power blackouts are growing in number and severity. In his paper, The Rising Tide of Power Outages and the Need for a Stronger and Smarter Grid, his 1991-2005 collection of data revealed that "in the period from 1991 to 2000, there were 76 outages of 100MW or more in the second half of the decade compared to 66 such occurrences in the first half. Furthermore, there were 41 percent more outages affecting 50,000 or more consumers in the second half of the 1990s than in the first half (58 outages in 1996-2000 versus 41 outages in 1991-1995). Further analysis show that there were 200 outages of 100 MW or more during 2001-2005; such outages have increased to 219 during 2006-May 2010. Additionally, the number of U.S. power outages affecting 50,000 or more consumers increased from 197 (during 2001-2005) to 312 (during 2006-May 2010)."
Consistent with power interruption concerns, a 2005 study conducted by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory researchers estimated that electric power outages and blackouts cost the U.S. about $80 billion annually. Hammack comments that on many levels the U.S. electric grid is one of the military's major vulnerabilities.
Regarding the grid's vulnerability to Nature and other factors, she explains: "We've seen floods, tornados, earthquakes, etc., that can decimate power lines, and sometimes they take hours to replace, and sometimes they take weeks to replace. Accidents are another concern, which can be simple – from a car running into a power pole – to something more complex, such as an accident with a transformer, which affects a substation and can take several weeks to replace. Man is the third concern, whether those acts are national security threats from terrorist organizations or local acts of sabotage.
"The U.S. has a very vulnerable electricity grid, and its natural gas pipelines are just as vulnerable. America has miles and miles of unprotected power lines and unprotected natural gas pipelines, which means, from an energy standpoint, that we are not secure. The role and mission of the Army, the National Guard and Reserves is to be able to provide for the safety of the U.S. We need to be sure we are protected against these and other vulnerabilities."
In order to combat these issues, the military has been focusing on Net Zero, which, according to Hammack, "is how we can ensure that our bases are operational regardless of what goes on around us." The bottom line is that Net Zero programs reduce vulnerability and risk to challenges outside the military's fence line. This priority imperative ensures the military can continue to operate and to fulfill its primary mission.
Net Zero is a revolutionary strategy because it attacks natural security threats and disasters from three sides: energy, water and waste. Although the practice ensures military installations generate as much electricity as they use, the first priority is to reduce energy usage as much as possible. This never-before-seen military focus on energy reduction and efficiency is being accomplished through a myriad of avenues from lighting to building design and maintenance to biofuels.
According to Hammack, the second priority is "to repurpose energy. In operations, an installation may have waste heat that goes out of a smokestack from a boiler. We're seeing more and more power plants looking for ways to repurpose waste heat for beneficial use. The last priority is to produce energy from renewable resources so we aren't vulnerable to natural gas pipelines or electricity power lines. And, renewable can be anything from hydro to solar to wind to geothermal or even biomass." The bottom line is DoD wants to ensure that it doesn't have a supply line that can be interrupted by natural or man-made forces.
Water as a Point of Conflict
© iStockphoto.com/AlonzoDesign
"While there may be little evidence that nations will actually declare war over water, there is certainly an ample record of conflict within societies, tension between states and other water-related national security challenges, including the use of water resources as a tool of political influence," comments Burke.
The Assistant Secretary of Defense maintains that consumption and consequences are the two categories of consideration for natural security. Natural resource consumption "can affect geopolitics and the stability of nations. At the same time, the consequences of high consumption rates of these resources, such as climate change and biodiversity loss, can also create geostrategic pressure, instability and disaster."
Water is a geopolitical element of instability, both nationally and internationally. This is why it is a critical component of Net Zero. In the military's Net Zero water strategy, each installation, according to Hammack, "will ensure that it is not using more water than it can inject back into the local aquifer. We need to treat water as a precious resource, which is why the same kind of hierarchy exists for it as for energy. First, we need to reduce the amount of water we use. We shouldn't be irrigating lawns with potable water; we should be using a grey water system. Another example is washing vehicles. We have a lot of vehicles that need washing, so we have water reuse stations, which recycle water in our wash stations to ensure we use as little water from those freshwater resources as possible."
Land as an Invaluable Asset
The Defense Department owns and/or manages more than 30 million acres of land in which the principle purpose is to support mission-related activities. Within these operations, all DoD natural resource conservation program activities, according to DoD Instruction 4715.03, are required to sustain the long-term ecological integrity of the resource base and the ecosystem services they provide. In other words, the Defense Department is required to demonstrate stewardship of natural resources in its trust by protecting and enhancing those resources for mission support, biodiversity conservation and maintenance of ecosystem services.
DoD understands the risks inherent in the environmental degradation of its training lands, which is why Net Zero has a waste component as well. "We don't want to use our training grounds for landfills, which is why we want to ensure we're reducing the amount of waste we generate and then repurpose it. We want to recycle or compost as much as possible so we have as little waste as possible. We want to treat everything from a cradle-to-cradle aspect, which will ensure that we're appropriately stewarding the limited lands available to us and using them for the highest intended purpose rather than as a waste dump or landfill," explains Hammack.
For DoD, the Net Zero program is not just about incorporating a new natural security strategy into one building or two. The new way of thinking and acting will be incorporated into installations that amount to small cities with thousands of buildings and tens of thousands of people who live and work in that installation on a daily basis. This massive initiative will ensure the military's ability to reduce risk, vulnerability and uncertainty associated with environmental security and natural and man-made disasters. According to Hammack, this effort will "ensure our primary mission and ability to operate should there be vulnerability in the energy and water supply outside our installation. This strategy is also fiscally prudent in that when we manage our resources appropriately, we reduce costs for energy and water. And, we may generate a positive stream from our waste recycling versus a negative one from landfill costs."
© iStockphoto.com/tatarnikova
Burke provides an additional perspective on land-use and degradation that will affect national security. She maintains, "If current trends for population growth, consumer preferences, environmental degradation, freshwater availability and climate change continue, there is a strong possibility of absolute food supply shortages in this century, and that presents serious security risks. Indeed, the links between stability and food are particularly direct."
One of these direct links of concern for Burke and other experts is biodiversity loss. She writes in her CNAS Natural Security Working Paper: "Many scientists today believe that Earth is on the verge of the most significant mass extinction of plant and animal life in 65 million years, perhaps in the entire history of the planet, and certainly in the history of human life on the planet. Biodiversity loss is likely to be highly destabilizing in that it will constrain access to a full range of natural resources, including food and potable water. The environmental degradation that causes species extinction tends to be highly correlated with military threats; the factors that lead to poor stewardship of natural resources also tend to provoke instability, insurgencies and conflict. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) estimates that natural resource stress is a notable factor in approximately 40 percent of current conflicts around the world.
"There are many ways the United States could address natural security more comprehensively, but most simply by incorporating a more holistic view of resource challenges into existing institutions and processes. Most of our institutions of governance already have competencies in this area, but perhaps lack the direction or coordination to pull together a comprehensive look at natural security. It may be that new requirements and a shift in emphasis are all that is needed to change the country's understanding of and framework for addressing these issues.
"The consequences of a failure to act to improve energy and materials security or deal with climate change and biodiversity loss may not be fully understood for decades. By the time the consequences are clear, however, it will be too late to act. Just as the nation's understanding of what constitutes a threat is changing, so is our understanding of how we achieve peace and prosperity. As this young century unfolds, the security of the United States and most nations of the world will increasingly depend on our 'natural security.'"
Burke: Dept. of Defense photo; Hammack: U.S. Army photo | Sharon E. Burke (left) and Katherine Hammack (right).


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Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (subclass 187)
The Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) Direct Entry (DE) is now closed to new applications.
The Wimmera Development Association RCB will continue to assess RSMS applications for both the Wimmera Development Association RCB regions that were lodged with the Department of Home Affairs before the closing date. Use the WDA RCB Support Information Checklist (200kb PDF) to check that you have the evidence to support your RSMS Applications see evidence to support your application.
The Wimmera Development Association RCB is now assessing applications for the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (SESR) (Provisional) visa (subclass 494).
Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) 494 visa
The Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (SESR) allows Australian employers in regional and low population growth areas of Australia to nominate skilled workers from overseas in order to fill skilled vacancies in their business. This visa gives the skilled migrant permanent residency in Australia.
The Wimmera Development Association has been gazetted by the Federal Department of Home Affairs as a Regional Certifying Body (RCB) for the Wimmera Southern Mallee region and covers the Local Government Areas of West Wimmera, Hindmarsh, Horsham, Yarriambiack, Northern Grampians, Buloke and Ararat.
Our Role as a Regional Certifying Body
Our role is to provide advice to the Department of Home Affairs on the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (SESR) visa Employer Sponsored stream nomination applications, using local area knowledge to advise on whether the nominee for the position will be paid at least the annual market salary rate for the occupation under the legislative requirements of the scheme.
Additionally, we provide advice to Department of Home Affairs confirming that the terms and conditions of employment applicable to the position will be no less favourable than the terms and conditions that are provided to, or would be provided to, an Australian citizen or Australian permanent resident for performing work in the person's workplace at the same location.
Employer Sponsored stream nominations must be accompanied by advice from an RCB. This advice can be provided before or after lodgement of the Employer Sponsored stream nomination application with the Department of Home Affairs. The Department cannot approve a nomination where advice from an RCB has not been provided.
Employer Sponsored stream nominations will be assessed against a range of criteria, including but not limited to those that RCBs provide advice on. Local knowledge about businesses operating in the specific RCB's jurisdiction adds value to the assessment process.
Please check the Department of Home Affairs website for further information.
Documentation, Fees and Processing of Applications
The following information is provided to assist employers sponsoring skilled migrants for permanent residency. The information below relates to the process of gaining approval from the Regional Certifying Body.
Department of Home Affairs - Form 1404 (PLEASE NOTE: New Form Dec 2019)
If using a Migration Agent, provide an authority with the Department of Home Affairs - Form 956
Evidence to support your application.Use the WDA RCB Support Information Checklist (200kb PDF)
Lodge your nomination by email to info@wda.org.au
Application Processing fee: $550 includingGST (Non-refundable) RCB Payment options (145kb PDF). Direct debit is preferred.
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Once completed WDA will return the application to the employer/nominee for lodgement with Department of Home Affairs. Certification by Wimmera Development Association does not guarantee that the nomination will be approved by the department.
For further information about lodging an employer nomination to the WDA RCB officer 0437 816 505 or email info@wda.org.au
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The Administration/Processing fee is non-refundable regardless of whether certification is granted or not. Department of Home Affairs does not charge a fee to the employer for nominating a position however the visa application does attract a fee.
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Healthy environment key to healthy state
Ed Legg
A healthy economy, better human health and health of the environment are directly connected. The stewardship of these connections is especially crucial in Maine because tourism is our number one industry. Lobster and other shellfish waters must be kept clean and disease-free because they are essential to economic and human health. Preserving Maine's inland environment is important because eco-tourism and water sports are growing at a fast and productive rate. Sport fishing and hunting remain as foundations of our state's economy and quality of life. These outdoor activities are dependent on a healthy natural landscape.
Historically, Maine's forests have been and continue to be essential components of many industries. However, recent studies conducted by expert scientists concluded that our forests are in danger of becoming future wastelands. Our state is presently home to over 18 million acres of forest. In a front page article written by Portland Press Herald staff writer North Cairn, the economic connections to our unique woodlands ecosystems were explained: "Unless people dramatically cut the amount of carbon dioxide they're putting into the air and water through industry, farming, landfills and fossil fuel consumption, Maine's largest manufacturing industry will be damaged in ways scientists can only begin to predict."
Cairn's underneath headline read, "A warming climate makes Maine's trees vulnerable to pests and other stresses that could imperil the 30,000 forestry-related jobs in the state, experts warn."
Our forests generate more than $6.5 billion for our economy each year. This number includes the contributions of tourism, recreation and outdoor sports businesses. Manufacturing industries and steady jobs are represented in this overall figure by the traditional industries of timber, lumber and furniture, plus emerging manufacturing products such as wood pellets, paper pulp, home building and heating.
The massive injection of climate changing toxins into the atmosphere is also creating a paradise domicile for pests. We are experiencing forest destroying invasions from insects such as the Gypsy Moth, the Winter Moth and the Eastern Tent Caterpillar, a critter which preys on fruit trees.
Our country has suffered too much man-made destruction of our environment in the past. Over 25 years ago, when I was a national administrator and consultant for The Nature Conservancy and Ducks Unlimited, I was asked to conduct a media tour that emphasized the threat to or even the possible extinction of our national bird, the bald eagle. Through careful research, scientists discovered that serious attacks on our environment were caused by the widely used insecticide called DDT. DDT was decimating populations of predator birds such as bald eagles and ospreys. The birds that ate animals contaminated by a literal poison did not directly kill the predators — DDT so infected the parent birds that they could not produce offspring.
In his birding column published in the Maine Sunday Telegram, Colby College ornithologist Herb Wilson concluded that "the greatest human-related scourge on Ospreys was the widespread use of DDT for over 20 years beginning around 1950." Although DDT did wipe out the insects at which it was aimed, it was preventing the successful nesting of some of nation's most magnificent feathered species. Wilson concentrated his column on ospreys, but DDT severely impacted other birds of prey, particularly bald eagles. Wilson wrote: "The DDT was absorbed by small animals and was difficult to eliminate. As a result, DDT biomagnified as it passed up the food chain, becoming more concentrated as it passed from prey to intermediate predators to top predators like the Osprey ...; The major effect on the Osprey was to cause eggshell thinning; the eggs were easily broken by an incubating parent ...; over 90 percent of the Ospreys from New York to Massachusetts perished."
The solution for eliminating this environmental disaster was implemented by the political sector. DDT was banned. Today, osprey and bald eagle populations are thriving. Bipartisan environmental policies won the day. We did not destroy our national symbol. Through political action, we averted the loss of species and their pools of genetic information which can be critical to human health. We also created environmental awareness and movements throughout Maine and the country. The leadership inspired by one of Maine's true heroes, Rachel Carson, warned us of the approaching "Silent Spring," which served as a model for protecting our natural areas.
Is this tradition and spirit of conservation currently alive and well in Augusta? Unfortunately, Gov. Paul LePage and his legislative sycophants appear to be insensitive or ignorant about the critical importance of a healthy Maine environment. The governor's hostility to banning harmful toxins such as Bisphenol A in baby food products and his stated disdain for environmental groups are sadly evident. LePage will not even release already passed bond funds for preservation projects provided by our Land For Maine's Future programs. If the governor really was committed to building a stronger economy and to creating substantial job growth, he and his cohorts should lead in reinforcing the vital connections that exist between a healthy economy, human health and the vigorous stewardship of our environment.


Abstract: 'Culture' is one of the key words of the English language, in popular as well as scholarly discourse. It is flourishing in popular usage, with proliferation of extended uses (police culture, Barbie culture, argument culture, culture of complaint, etc.), while being endlessly debated in intellectual circles. Though it is sometimes observed that the meaning of the English word culture is highly language-specific, its precise lexical semantics has received surprisingly little attention. The main task undertaken in this paper is to develop and justify semantic explications for the common ordinary meanings of this polysemous word. My analytical framework is the natural semantic metalanguage (NSM) approach originated by Anna Wierzbicka. I will propose a set of semantic explications framed in terms of empirically established universal primes such as PEOPLE, THINK, DO, LIVE, NOT, LIKE, THE SAME, and OTHER.


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In order for CDN interconnection to become a reality, business use cases have to be elaborated between operators to replace the existing inequitable business models imposed by CDN providers. Those business models use Operators' infrastructure as simple pipes limiting the revenue share to peering agreements. Alternative use cases would consider a content delivery aware model where monetization would be based on the act of delivery instead of packet transport.
Once business cases are established, a set of technical requirements can be derived to create a set of interfaces between different Operators' CDN networks. Those interfaces need to address content ingestion, delivery, accounting, protection rights extension. The design objective would be to have an easy to implement and monetize interaction model comparable to voice interconnection architectures. A more technical approach could then be applied so as to define architectural proposals to address those requirements.


Established in Italy since 1933, the Bible House is a branch of the Geneva Bible Society (see below). Its primary commitment is a Bible and Bible-based activity of translation, publishing and distribution including Bible editions, Christian literature and multimedia materials through and extended network of sales by correspondence (retailers and private) and our bookstores of Turin and Genoa.
Since 2008 La Casa della Bibbia has been promoting an effort to spread of God's Word at the lower possible cost through a series of "low-cost" Bibles (€ 1,50, € 2,90, € 4,90) sold through the main malls in Italy (Auchan, Ipercoop, SMA, Carrefour) and bookstalls.
We also have an Editorial Agency, Letteraelle, providing publishing services (translation, graphic and page design, proofreading, printing) for both debut authors and publishers in order to assist the Client with each and every phase of the creative project.
The Geneva Bible Society is a non-profit Christian foundation established in 1917 in Geneva. It is recognized of public utility by the Swiss Government for its activities of translation, publishing and distribution of the Holy Scriptures and Christian books in French, German and Italian. The GBS developed its activities in four continents (Europe, Africa, America, Oceania) through over 20 bookshops known as "The Bible House" and an extended network of sales by correspondence and through other bookstores, evangelical and secular. Today the GBS still promotes worldwide multiple initiatives aiming at the spread of the Gospel as well as the safeguard of values, arts, business and professional ethics founded on Christian principles.


Your donations of food and time make it possible to serve more than 1,500 meals each week to people in need. The meal program is open to all who are hungry, no questions asked.
Our community Meal Program is open to the public 7 days-a-week, 365 days-a-year. No form of identification or proof of income is necessary to take part.
Volunteers are needed to help serve meals. Call (608)782-6126 if you're interested or click here.
Residents of La Crosse County are invited to come for groceries once a month. Donations are always welcome!
1-2:45pm M-Th *the Food Pantry is not open on Friday, Saturday, or Sundays.


If you or someone you know feels like getting creative, join us at our free and fun LGBTIQA+ inclusive writing and art workshops for 12 – 17 year olds.
Join novelist and script writer, Janet Brown for a youth writing workshop. Spark your creativity and express your story through the power of writing. This fun and creative workshop will leave you bursting with ideas to continue your practice.
With a resident artist leading this workshop, we will use all the colours of the rainbow to express your story through art.


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Q: Can one always modify normal crossing divisors to strict normal crossing by finite cover? Let $X$ be a smooth algebraic variety, let $B$ be a normal crossing divisor on $X$. Can we always find a finite (ramified) cover $f\colon Y\to X$, such that $Y$ is smooth, and $f^{-1}B$ is a strictly normal crossing divisor?
Here is a simple case which I feel confused: Taking $X=\mathbb{A}^2$ and $B=V(y^2-x^3-x^2)$, does there exist a double cover $f:Y\to X$, such that $f^{-1}B$ is a union of two smooth rational curves meeting at two nodes (as depicted in Hartshorne Exercise III.10.6)? If there doesn't, intuitively what shall be the obstruction?

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Ed Lee, George Gascón were missing in action after Kate Steinle verdict
Willie Brown
Dec. 1, 2017 Updated: Dec. 2, 2017 1 a.m.
1of2District Attorney George Gascón (third from right) announces the filing of felony, bribery and money laundering charges against former Human Rights Commission Commissioner Nazly Mohajer, former Human Rights Commission employee Zula Jones and political consultant Keith Jackson as he stands with City Attorney Dennis Herrera (second from right) and FBI Special Agent In Charge David Johnson (right) during a press conference at the District Attorney's office on Friday, January 22, 2016 in San Francisco, Calif.Lea Suzuki/The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
2of2Mayor Ed Lee (middle) takes an outside street tour of the the latest Navigation Center, a one-stop comprehensive shelter aimed at quickly housing the homeless, on Sunday, July 16, 2017 in San Francisco, Calif.Liz Hafalia/The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
The silence out of San Francisco's top officials after the verdict in the Kate Steinle case was both uncharacteristic of our city and unhealthy.
Uncharacteristic, because in past years, mayors and district attorneys have never been shy about stepping before the microphones when San Francisco is in the headlines, be the news good or bad.
Unhealthy, because San Franciscans have the right to hear from their civic leaders when the city is in the national glare. It's just part of the democratic fabric that binds us together.
But on Thursday, after a jury acquitted Jose Ines Garcia Zarate of murder and manslaughter charges in the 2015 shooting of Steinle, Mayor Ed Lee declined to say a word.
The least a mayor can do when the president of the United States labels a San Francisco jury's verdict "disgraceful" is to have the jurors' backs. We have a system in this country to decide a defendant's guilt or innocence, and these 12 citizens gave more than a month of their lives listening to every word of evidence — something Donald Trump and all his Twitterverse allies didn't do. They did their duty as Americans.
Lee should have pointed out that the rule is, "The jury has spoken." Its verdict needs to be respected, not mocked by people who have never set foot in a jury box.
Plus, we're a city with sanctuary policies for undocumented immigrants. It's a popular stance in San Francisco. Trump's attorney general attacked both those policies and the city after the verdict, and Lee's job as chief executive is to get out there, speak for San Franciscans and defend what we do.
I certainly got an earful the day after the verdict. Every coffee shop was buzzing and every cabbie had an opinion.
No sooner had I gotten into my morning taxi than the driver turned and asked, "Why did they charge first-degree murder?"
Good question. The prosecution's case was a classic instance of a district attorney overcharging a crime, and in the process alienating the jury.
By asking for a first-degree conviction, prosecutors upped the bar of proof and the chances of the whole case falling apart. There was precious little evidence that Garcia Zarate committed premeditated murder, and by raising that bar, prosecutors undercut their credibility with the jury.
When you've lost the jury on one charge, they'll be more skeptical as well on lesser charges, like second-degree murder and manslaughter.
The person we elect as district attorney should show his face when things go wrong and explain what happened. But District Attorney George Gascón didn't go public the night of the verdict, instead leaving it to his spokesman to offer that the outcome "was not the one we were hoping for."
No kidding.
Now, some will see us as a beacon of light for the verdict and our sanctuary city status. Others will say our lights are out. Either way, our lighthouse keepers need to be doing the jobs they're elected to do.
Year of the woman?: The polls show that no one's way out in front in the 2018 gubernatorial race, and at least a third of the voters are up for grabs. Which brings me to a recent dinner that George and Charlotte Shultz convened at a North Beach restaurant, where newscaster and former California first lady Maria Shriver asked if it was possible this early to predict a winner.
"No," I said, "because I am not sure that all of the candidates have entered."
Shriver is no longer a registered Democrat. She's among the 42 percent of California voters who are "decline to state."
I don't want to make Gavin Newsom, Antonio Villaraigosa or the other hopefuls nervous. But Shriver's question got me to thinking that she may be interested in running.
Super slogan: All over the city, we have candidates running for something. And some of them are incredibly entertaining.
Take Nick Josefowitz, who is now a BART board member but wants to be the supervisor from San Francisco's District Two, which includes the Marina and Cow Hollow.
His theme? "Pick Nick." He's hosting a Pick Nick party in every public park in the district.
More from Willie Brown
America's mistreatment of women doesn't stop with Charlie Rose
Harassment furor has frightened politicians scrambling for...
Movie time: "Justice League." This comic book action feature makes zero sense and is filled with characters who are equally empty. Clearly, however, the rest of America disagrees with me, because "Justice League" has been one of the biggest grossers of the season.
"Roman J. Israel, Esq." doesn't have much of a plot either, but Denzel Washington's performance as a civil rights lawyer who falls victim to hard times and greed is definitely Oscar worthy.
And speaking of Oscars, "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" is likely to be a leader in nominations. Start with best picture and wrap in best actress, for Frances McDormand's performance as an off-kilter mother seeking justice for her murdered daughter.
Christmas lights: Join me Thursday at McLaren Lodge for the real San Francisco Christmas tree lighting. All the city's living ex-mayors are invited, and once the tree in front of the lodge is lit, we'll march in a parade of lights and music to the Conservatory of Flowers.
At the conservatory, there will be a light show that parks Director Phil Ginsburg promises will be better than the Summer of Love anniversary show.
And this is all free!
Want to sound off? Email wbrown@sfchronicle.com
Two-term mayor of San Francisco, renowned speaker of the California Assembly, and widely regarded as the most influential African American politician of the late twentieth century, Willie L. Brown, Jr. has been at the center of California politics, government and civic life for four decades. His career spans the American presidency from Lyndon Johnson to George W. Bush, and he's worked with every California governor from Pat Brown to Arnold Schwarzenegger. From civil rights to education reform, tax policy, economic development, health care, international trade, domestic partnerships and affirmative action, he's left his imprimatur on every aspect of politics and public policy in the Golden State. As mayor of California's most cosmopolitan city, he refurbished and rebuilt the nation's busiest transit system, pioneered the use of bond measures to build affordable housing, created a model juvenile justice system, and paved the way for a second campus of UCSF to serve as the anchor of a new development that will position the city as a center for the burgeoning field of biotechnology.
Today, he heads the Willie L. Brown Jr. Institute on Politics and Public Service, where he shares his knowledge and skills with a new generation of California leaders.


In this video, the Science of Us talks about the interesting side of a difficult psychological ailment: Anxiety.
For some of us we've either known, -or been someone who is way too reactive or neurotic to potential-threats; or even imagined-ones.
Well in nature's endearingly-odd way, it turns out there is very likely an upside to this analysis-paralysis.
So: In-general, there are two types of wires in the brain. -White Matter & Gray Matter.
You may have only heard about the latter & think that it's the only stuff that well, ~"matters" (excuse the pun).
Well, it's not. For lack of a better metaphor, gray matter is like the farm of supercomputers.
And the white matter is like the high-speed switches & network cables that connect them all together.
The first stuff may appear better & more important, but then how does it talk more quickly & efficiently to all the other bits?
And the other big correlation white matter has & the point of this piece is: Intelligence.
More than one study has shown that people afflicted with Anxiety, who were either mother nature's hawkish-lookout characters, or the flighty-easily-spooked types with an exaggerated threat-response, Also turned-out to be more intelligent on-balance than the average person.
It would seem that the survival-advantage conferred by a hyper "Spidey-Sense" was passed down by descendants of those who actually ran first, asked questions later & thus: survived to pass down their genes.
At this point, you could get all chicken-and-egg, but it turns out all this hyper-awareness & sensitivity comes with both inherited costs & potentially-learnable benefits.
It takes an extra amount of brain-horsepower to be that alert, detail-oriented & then planning based on those details.
-Which comes in the form of the type of tissue that helps put all those different details, memories, and current perceptions into a +/- cohesive run-away plan: Noticeably-higher amounts of white-matter.
And of-course as hinted at before, the cost of this today is at least increases in both General and Social Anxiety.
What Can An Average Person Take Away From This?
1) It would be interesting to test the opposite-case. Look down the smart-people end of the spectrum & see if they're all more anxious than the average population.
And 2) The part that matters for us: Can we become a little-bit smarter?
-For example, by becoming increasingly-obsessed with the details, can we effectively run the machine in reverse?
Can You Increase Your Own White Matter + Intelligence By Healthy "Obsessing"?
What if you could slowly get better at noticing increasing amounts of detail, baby-steps at a time through studying things that interest you, until the point where you're almost as aware & mentally-active as a pathologically-anxious person.
-Just a better-balanced version of one.
Would it be possible to increase your white-matter, your interconnectedness, and thus your intelligence by doing so?
-At least a few studies on 3D video-games that require attention-to-detail seem to suggest something like that.
And if you're already anxious, you may have the advantage of being a more detail-oriented and intelligent person.


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Shimonoseki City University:
Self-Regulation in Foreign Language Learning (day 1 of 2)
Date: Saturday, December 7th, 2013 Time: 10:00 AM - 5:45 PM
Speaker: The featured speakers are Garold Murray (Okayama University) and Yoshiyuki Nakata (Hyogo University of Teacher Education).
Interested researchers and practitioners are invited to submit a presentation proposal (150-200 words) for the upcoming symposium on Self-Regulation in Foreign Language Learning. Proposals should be related to foreign language learning and self-regulated learning, learner autonomy, social dimensions of learning, or other related areas. The deadline for submissions is July 15th, 2013. See the symposium website for more details.
Organization: Shimonoseki City University
Cost: TBA
Venue: Shimonoseki City University, Yamaguchi Prefecture (map)
Location: Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan
Contact Shimonoseki City University
Website: srl.shimonoseki-online.net
Kristen Sullivan
< prev December 2023 next >


text:
Q: How to open Java Library System files in eclipse? I'm getting excited at the moment to open Java library files that what contains in it, i mean which type of coding oracle nowadays using, I know that to make an API is easy step, but want to know how to open these library files, as simply i do click, this shows an error:
please see this in pic
Help Would be appreciated!. thanks

A: You can attach source code of Java in your IDE.
In Eclipse go to Windows -> Preferences -> Java -> Installed JREs.
Then select jre6/jre7(whatever is there in your system) and click Edit.
Then You can see "Source Attachment" on right hand side, click on that.
Then you can attach src.zip file that is provided by Oracle in your installation directory of java(Ex : C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jdk1.7.0_60\src.zip).
After that click Ok and there you go. You can see any Java Library Class Files like String.class or Thread.class etc.


text:
Aristida dichotoma är en gräsart som beskrevs av André Michaux. Aristida dichotoma ingår i släktet Aristida och familjen gräs. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Externa länkar

Gräs
dichotoma

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Despite their appearance, we believe these posts were made to be sold. Posts 21 & 22 could be newly carved heads on old posts.
The posts below have been sold and are left here for educational and research purposes.


A North Wales construction company is celebrating after being named one of the best in the UK construction industry.
Bodelwyddan-based Wynne Construction won SME (up to 250 employees) of the year at the Constructing Excellence (CE) awards, which recognise leading businesses, projects, and individuals in the sector.
And the major award win followed the company's success at the Constructing Excellence in Wales (CEW) awards, where it was crowned SME (1-50 employees) of the year.
The Welsh win earned Wynne Construction a place on CE's national awards shortlist, where it beat off competition from nine other SMEs across England and Wales to claim the top accolade.
It comes after a strong 12 months for the business,which has secured a contract to deliver a new Travelodge hotel in Rhyl, and completed a number of educational builds including a £10m revamp of Coleg Cambria's Bersham Road engineering centre in Wrexham, £10m Ysgol Cybi and £5.0m Ysgol Rhyd Y Llan for Anglesey County Council and the £10m Glasdir schools projects in Ruthin for Denbighshire County Council.
It has also been recognised at the Local Authority Building Control (LABC) awards, with its £2.6m RNLI Lifeboat station build winning best small commercial project at the LABC's All Wales 2018 awards, and finishing as runner up at the LABC's grand finals, held in London.
And as the only indigenous Welsh contractor to have full building information modelling (BIM) Level 2 certification, Wynne Construction is continuing to be a leader in its field, says managing director Chris Wynne.
He said: "To be named as the UK's best SME construction company is an incredible achievement. It is an accolade which would not have been possible without the buy-in from every single one of our team here, without their support and enthusiasm it would not have been possible.
"We have an amazing team at Wynne Construction and when you have good people, the sky's the limit, I'm proud of every one of them. This award win has been incredibly well received by everyone in the company.
"We have been in business for more than 90 years, and while a lot of things have changed over the years, our ambition to be at the forefront has stayed the same.
Wynne Construction is a leading construction company operating throughout North Wales, Mid Wales and the North West of England.
The firm regularly leads on projects in sectors including education, healthcare, and sport and leisure.
For more information visit http://www.wynneconstruction.co.uk/.
"We have an amazing team at Wynne Construction and when you have good people, the skys the limit, Im proud of every one of them. This award win has been incredibly well received by everyone"


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Q: How to color a part of a polygon of a card with R? I have the map below and I would like to color only the southern border of the map.
library(rgdal)
library(prettymapr)
x=readOGR(file.choose())
plot(x)
addnortharrow()
addscalebar()
box()


With Chinese noted among the fastest growing skills in cloud computing and ecommerce according to a recent Indeed report, studying Chinese opens the door to career opportunity. The Chinese Studies major offers academically rigorous courses in Chinese language, history, literature, culture, religion and film. Students acquire the general literacy and appreciation of the richness and variety of traditional and modern Chinese studies and the fundamentals of a sought after multicultural education.
Understanding of different cultures and countries.


As consumers, we're bombarded with email marketing all day everyday. These messages are more than likely businesses we've purchased from or services we've used that are trying to reel us back in. The fact of the matter is emails are effective, which is why large brands continue to create them. Below are a few mind blowing statistics you should know pertaining to emails.
By simply sending a welcome email to new customers or users, a 320% revenue increase is associated.
Customers will spend 138% more when targeted by email offers versus those who are not.
80% of business owners stated that email marketing is the biggest reason for customer retention.
When asked, 86% of professionals prefer to communicate over email.
60% of marketers said email marketing is their most effect tool in generating revenue.
Click through rates are 47% higher for business to business email campaigns.
Almost half of all businesses worldwide use some form of email strategy.
According to a recent study, with every $1 invested in an email campaign, you'll receive $44 in return.
Emails marketed to pet owners have the highest open rate.
It is clear that email marketing is effective and still widely used today. Whether you're implementing a business to business or business to consumer strategy, email marketing is an effective way to target your audience with a proven return. Want to learn more about generating leads with emails? Click here. Want our help with coming up with an email campaign strategy for your brand? Contact us.


We give salvaged materials a higher purpose through up-cycled products, art and builds we design and deliver.
We source as close to the project site as possible to reduce product miles and the impact of shipping on the environment.
Our raw materials are often destined for the dump or the incinerator. We mix that with the necessary new materials and hardware to get the job done.
We love a challenge! Our notebooks are filled with ideas about how to bring up-cycling into regular practice. It is what we live and breathe. You probably have some thoughts on that, too.
Working with our clients to design a solution that brings this aesthetic and practice to light is our passion.
We can be the general contractor for your project, and bring in a team of folks that can get it done.
We can also be a member of your team, especially if you want to add our experience with, and focus on, salvaged materials and up-cycling.
New Tuff Tables in stock! We've just built out a couple of these. Contact us for pricing and custom orders!
This was a recent install of salvaged wood in a Victoria area music studio. Looks good and will have some acoustic dampening qualities when the recording happens.


New Jersey has long been considered a difficult state when a contractor is grappling with regulatory and enforcement issues. However, the state has long upheld the use of §3508.
Clients may recall that §3508 of the Internal Revenue Code, followed in varying degrees by 30-35 states, allows a contractor to pay a sales representative without withholding payroll taxes – if you can meet the tests and have the correct written agreement in place with the sales representative.
New Jersey has for many years followed this practice, and Berenson LLP has defended and prevailed in many New Jersey unemployment audits of sales representatives structured under §3508.
The precise language of N.J. Stat. ß 43:21-19 lets a contractor avoid state unemployment withholding if the sales representatives is engaged in selling merchandise in-home and is paid only on a commission and bonus basis.
Unfortunately, New Jersey unemployment auditors are increasingly taking the position that "merchandise" does not include capital improvements such as siding or roofing or replacement windows or doors. They point to the legislative definition of "merchandise" contained within N.J.A.C. 12:19-1.2. As Berenson LLP has pointed out previously in audits, however, that definition technically is not supposed to apply to a §3508 analysis.
Nevertheless, New Jersey clients utilizing §3508 should now reconsider the risk-reward of their structure due to this increased effort by unemployment auditors to crack down on our industry. Feel free to contact us if you would like to examine this further.
For a complete discussion of this and other 2014 hot button topics impacting the safety and profitability of remodelers, join us for our annual Home Improvement Legal Seminar at the PGA Resort in Palm Beach Gardens on January 30-31, 2014.


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Posts Tagged 'Hillary Rodham Clinton'
U.S. keeps India waiting on Iran sanctions waiver
Posted by Admin on May 7, 2012
http://in.news.yahoo.com/clinton-hopes-india-even-more-cut-iran-oil-051703966–finance.html
By Andrew Quinn | Reuters – 2 hours 48 minutes ago
KOLKATA (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton leaned harder on India on Monday to deepen cuts of Iranian oil imports, saying Washington may not make a decision on whether to exempt New Delhi from financial sanctions for another two months.
Clinton, on a three-day visit to India, said the United States was encouraged by the steps its ally had taken so far to reduce its reliance on Iranian oil but that "even more" action was needed.
The oil issue has become an irritant in ties between India and the United States. India is unwilling to be seen to be bowing to U.S. pressure and is reluctant to become too reliant on Saudi Arabia for its oil needs, which officials say privately would be strategically unwise.
The sanctions threaten to shut out Iranian oil importers from the U.S. financial system unless they make significant and continuing cuts to their crude purchases by an end-June deadline.
India is Iran's second-biggest crude customer, so it is crucial to the U.S. strategy of choking off the Iranian economy to force Tehran's leaders to curb their nuclear programme.
(For slideshow: Hillary Clinton in India, click http://reut.rs/IQVrji)
"We do not believe Iran will peacefully resolve this unless the pressure continues. We need India to be part of the international effort," Clinton told a townhall-style meeting in Kolkata.
Publicly, India has rejected Western sanctions but privately it has pushed local refiners to start cutting imports. India's refiners signed new yearly contracts with Iran running from April 1 and Reuters calculations suggest imports could plunge about 25 percent in 2012/2013.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in April that India had already substantially cut Iranian oil imports. But Clinton's comments on Monday suggested that Washington expected more action before it would grant the sanctions waiver.
The United States in March granted exemptions to Japan and 10 European Union nations. India and China, Iran's biggest crude importer, remain at risk.
Clinton held up Japan as an example, saying it had cut imports despite having suffered a devastating earthquake and tsunami that crippled its Fukushima nuclear reactor. Japan's cuts of between 15 and 22 percent were enough to get a waiver.
Washington has not stated specifically what cuts it expects from each country, only that they must be substantial.
"We think India, as a country that understands the importance of trying to use diplomacy to try to resolve these difficult threats, is certainly working toward lowering their purchase of Iranian oil," Clinton said.
"We commend the steps that they have taken thus far. We hope they will do even more," said Clinton, who was due to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Delhi later on Monday.
ADEQUATE MARKET SUPPLY
Clinton noted that Saudi Arabia, Iraq and other oil-producing nations were supplying more crude to the markets to offset any loss of supply from Iran.
"If there were not the ability for India to go into the market and meet its needs we would understand that. But we believe there is adequate supply and that there are ways for India to continue to meet their energy requirements," she said.
She added that the United States would make a decision on whether to exempt India from the U.S. sanctions on Iran in "about two months from now".
An Indian official privy to the Indian talks with Iran and the United States had earlier expressed hope that Clinton might announce a waiver during her visit. The official said the government had done enough to secure the exemption.
A senior U.S. official said on Sunday that Carlos Pascual, the U.S. special envoy who has been negotiating with Iranian oil importers to cut their imports, would visit India in mid-May to discuss the issue.
Clinton said at the town-hall event that Iran posed a grave threat to the region and that Indians should not view it as a "far-off threat". Iran had dispatched "terrorist agents" to target Israelis and others in India, she said.
Clinton's trip coincides with a visit by a large Iranian trade delegation, which is in Delhi to discuss how the two countries can trade via a rupee mechanism set up to skirt sanctions. U.S. officials played down the importance of the Iranian visit.
Trade disputes and frequent U.S. complaints that it is difficult for American companies to do business in India have also strained ties. Ambiguously worded Indian proposals to crack down on tax evasion and tax indirect investments have also alarmed Washington and sown confusion among foreign investors.
Finance Minister Mukherjee announced in parliament on Monday that he would delay by one year, until fiscal 2013/2014, the introduction of the tax evasion measures.
In her meeting with Singh, Clinton was expected to push for the government to open up India's retail sector to foreign supermarkets such as Walmart – a major economic reform that has stalled and become emblematic of the policy paralysis gripping Singh's government.
Clinton held talks earlier with Mamata Banerjee, the firebrand chief minister of West Bengal and Singh's key ally in government, who has blocked the retail reform. Clinton said before meeting Banerjee that she planned to raise the issue but the chief minister said afterwards that it was not discussed.
(Writing by Ross Colvin, additional reporting by Matthias Williams in New Delhi; Editing by John Chalmers and Jeremy Laurence)
Posted in Economic Upheavals, Geo-Politics, War Quotient | Tagged: Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, India, iran, Kolkata, Mamata Banerjee, Manmohan Singh, Saudi Arabia, United States | Comments Off on U.S. keeps India waiting on Iran sanctions waiver
US to invest in Bengal as 'partner state': Mamata
http://in.news.yahoo.com/us-to-invest-in-bengal-as–partner-state—mamata.html
IANS India Private Limited – 49 minutes ago
Kolkata, May 7: Describing her meeting with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as "positive, constructive and creative", West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Monday said the former assured her of American investment in the state for its business and economic development, considering Bengal as a "partner state".
Banerjee, however, said issues like Teesta water sharing with Bangladesh and foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail were "never raised" in the talks.
Addressing a press conference after a meeting with Clinton at the state secretariat, the chief minister said: "They (the US) will invest in West Bengal as a partner state. For a long time, there has not been any US investment in the state. After the change in political scenario, they said that the US would favour investment in Bengal."
Banerjee said Clinton has expressed the US' desire to invest in West Bengal as the state has witnessed a change in its "political scenario" after decades. She said she also urged Clinton to consider American investments in the state's software, IT and manufacturing, health and education sectors.
Banerjee said state Chief Secretary Samar Ghosh and US Ambassador to India Nancy Powell would coordinate between themselves and jointly monitor the projects, which would be set up under public-private-partnership (PPP) mode.
"We have formed a small group. Ghosh and Powell will coordinate between themselves and monitor the implementation of the projects," she said.
Banerjee, the Trinamool Congress chief, stressed issues like Teesta water sharing dispute and FDI did not come up in the talks with Clinton as was speculated in the media.
"We only discussed developmental issues. Strategic issues we did not discuss. Teesta and FDI did not come up in the meeting. There issues were never raised," she stated.
There was speculations in the political circles that Teesta water sharing with Bangladesh and FDI in multi-brand retail would be discussed in the Clinton-Banerjee meet. The Trinamool is strictly opposing foreign investment in retail, while the chief minister had opted out of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Dhaka trip last year, leading to the agreement on water sharing being dropped.
After the meeting, the chief minister said she was "very delighted" as the talks with Clinton had been "positive, constructive, creative and concrete".
Informing that the secretary of state appreciated her for implementation of different development programmes after coming to power in the state, the chief minister said she has assured her of US government's support in the business and economic development of the state, which was facing a severe debt crisis.
"She hailed us for coming to power in the state with huge support and changing the political scenario. She also appreciated our implementation of programmes in mission mode," Banerjee said.
Banerjee's Trinamool Congress, joining hands with the Congress, ousted the left Front, which had been in power for 34 years, last May.
Posted in Geo-Politics, Global Research, India Forgotten, Press Releases | Tagged: Banerjee, Bengal, Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Mamata Banerjee, Manmohan Singh, United States, West Bengal | Comments Off on US to invest in Bengal as 'partner state': Mamata
Clinton pitches for FDI in multibrand retail
http://in.finance.yahoo.com/news/clinton-pitches-fdi-multibrand-retail-090131043.html
Note from Admin : – As usual one of the biggest most insidiously jobful bitches of the West is as usual again at it, doing what she does best, fulfilling the geo-political strategical wishes of her servant manor masters of the 13 messed up royalty banking bloodlines by coming over to the east, to my country and poking her disgusting dirty little nose into the local politics of local states in my nation.
How the hell is it even allowed to happen by all who notice this. Why the hell would a Secretary of State of the most gluttonous country in the world come over to talk politics with local chief ministers of my country. We are sovereign and independent and we don't need any form of outside interference and/or assistance with how we should run our nation. Please F**K OFF!!
Bringing in the NCTC Act and FDI Retail Investments from the likes of Wal-Mart and others will wreck the SMBs and Cottage/Rural industries in my nation. They get mowed down by your wicked and greedy MNCs.
One of the prime opposers to this move is the Bengal Chief Minister and top political leader Mamata Bannerjee and so she is right now being coaxed to do the unthinkable and actually listen to the wonderful advice given my Ms. Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Great news for the NWO as it rumbles on in full gear forward. Either that peaks in 4 years from now or I am leaving this planet for so many other reasons.
Kolkata, May 7 (IANS) Making a strong pitch for further opening up of the Indian economy, especially with regard to foreign direct investment (FDI) in multibrand retail, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Monday said it would raise the standard of living in India.
"I come with certainly a belief that India can compete with anybody, anywhere. And the more open India becomes over time, the greater is the rise in the standard of living and (the more) the opportunity for the broader number of people," Clinton said during an interaction at the La Martiniere school for girls here.
"But I also understand politics. And I understand how lots of these decisions are difficult," she said.
Referring to the US desire to try to open the (Indian) market to multibrand retail, she said the primary reason for this was the "enormous amount of experience that has been brought to India by supply chain management in developing relationships with producers" so that their produce was easily and abundantly available and of larger quantity.
In this connection, she mentioned the factory of Fritolay India, the snack food division of Pepsico, in West Bengal, and said: "There are a lot of benefits that may not be immediately perceived."
With her visit taking place in the backdrop of speculation that she would raise the India-Bangladesh Teesta treaty with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Clinton said: "Water is an issue about the world that will be increasingly contentious."
"We have to do a better job of trying to find a win-win solution for everybody because the alternative will be perhaps worst than conflict, leading up to dislocation, destabilisation, refugee flows, famine and other kinds of problems that we are seeing in places like north Africa."
"We have to work together in the international community," she said.
Clinton clarified that the US does not have any interest on how water issues are resolved. "But we know from working on our own projections what will be the hard issues in future unless water issues are properly dealt with," she added.
Besides FDI, she also said the US wants "greater debate" on civil nuclear cooperation.
"We want to have far greater debate and dialogue on FDI and civil nuclear cooperation. US was in conversation with Indian government on those issues for a long time," she said.
Replying to a question on the Indian Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act passed by parliament last August, Clinton said: "We have made it clear to the government that under the legislation that was passed, it would be difficult for US companies to participate."
"We're still discussing this and hoping there's a way to work it out," she said.
The US has objected to some provisions of the Indian nuclear liability bill which allows citizens to file tort claims for damages and the nuclear plant operator's right of recourse against nuclear suppliers.
Hillary to hardsell FDI in retail to Bengal CM (dailymail.co.uk)
Hillary Clinton in India to push country to reduce oil dependence on Iran (dailymail.co.uk)
Hillary's charm offensive: Visiting U.S. Secretary of State will push India to reduce its oil dependence on Iran (dailymail.co.uk)
Clinton presses India to cut oil imports from Iran – CTV.ca (ctv.ca)
Secretary of State Clinton Makes Kolkata Her First Stop in India (hawaiireporter.com)
* U.S. agrees to treat West Bengal as partner for investment: Mamata (chindia-alert.org)
Clinton Urges India to Further Cut Iranian Oil Imports (voanews.com)
Clinton presses India to cut oil imports from Iran (hosted.ap.org)
Clinton Urges India to Further Cut Iranian Oil Imports (blogs.voanews.com)
Clinton presses India to cut oil imports from Iran (dawn.com)
Posted in Conspiracy Archives, Economic Upheavals, Geo-Politics, India Forgotten, Pollution, Press Releases | Tagged: Clinton, Government of India, Hillary Rodham Clinton, India, Kolkata, Mamata Banerjee, United States, West Bengal | Comments Off on Clinton pitches for FDI in multibrand retail
Thousands of Yemenis protest for Saleh to stay out
Posted by Admin on June 7, 2011
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110607/wl_nm/us_yemen
By Mohammed Ghobari and Mohammed Mukhashaf – 22 mins ago
SANAA (Reuters) – Thousands of protesters gathered in front of the Yemeni vice president's residence on Tuesday, demanding the acting leader for wounded President Ali Abdullah Saleh form a transitional council to create a new government.
Outside the peaceful protest in the capital of Sanaa, battles raged in a southern town held by Islamist militants.
Around 4,000 demonstrators in Sanaa, who have been calling for Saleh to step down for five months, called for a "million-man march" for him to stay in Saudi Arabia, where he has been treated for injuries since an attack on Friday.
"The people want to form a transitional council, we will not sleep, we will not sit until the council is formed," the protesters chanted.
Protesters carried banners saying "The blood of the liberated achieved victory," while others waved banners saying "Our revolution is Yemeni, not Gulf or American."
"We will remain in front of the residence of the vice president for 24 hours to pressure him for the formation of a transitional council," youth activist Omar al-Qudsi said.
"The era of Saleh has ended," he told Reuters.
Saleh, 69, was wounded on Friday when rockets struck his Sanaa palace, killing seven people and wounding senior officials and advisers in what his officials said was an assassination attempt. He is being treated in a Riyadh hospital.
The volatile situation in Yemen, which lies on vital oil shipping lanes, alarms Western powers and neighboring oil giant Saudi Arabia, who fear that chaos would enable the local al Qaeda franchise to operate more freely there.
They see Saleh's absence for medical treatment in Riyadh as an opportunity to ease the president out of office after nearly 33 years ruling the impoverished Arab nation.
"We are calling for a peaceful and orderly transition," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Monday.
British Prime Minister David Cameron called Vice President Abu-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, appointed by Saleh as acting president, and pushed for a ceasefire.
Hadi has insisted that Saleh would return within days.
Saudi officials say it is up to Saleh whether he returns home or not, but they and their Western allies may want to revive a Gulf-brokered transition deal under which the Yemeni leader would quit in return for immunity from prosecution.
"Saleh's departure is probably permanent," said Robert Powell, Yemen analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit.
"The Saudis, as well as the U.S. and European Union, are pushing hard for him to stay in Saudi Arabia, as they view the prospect of his return as a catastrophe.
"Prior to his departure, the country was slipping inexorably into a civil war. However, his removal has suddenly opened a diplomatic window to restart the seemingly failed GCC-mediated proposal. It seems Saudi Arabia and other interested parties are unwilling to allow Saleh to derail it this time."
CLASHES IN SOUTH
Saudi Arabia is worried by the activities of the Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which has staged daring if not very effective attacks on Saudi and U.S. targets.
The army said it had killed dozens of Islamist militants including a local al Qaeda leader in the southern town of Zinjibar, capital of the flashpoint Abyan province.
A local official said 15 soldiers had been killed in the battles for control of the town seized by militants some 10 days ago.
Some of Saleh's opponents have accused the president of deliberately letting AQAP militants take over Zinjibar to demonstrate the security risks if he lost power.
The fighting has reduced Zinjibar, once home to more than 50,000 people, to a ghost town without power or running water.
Fighting also flared again in the city of Taiz, south of Sanaa, where anti-government gunmen have clashed sporadically with troops in the past few days.
A Saudi-brokered truce was holding in the capital after two weeks of fighting between Saleh's forces and tribesmen in which more than 200 people were killed and thousands forced to flee.
POWER TRANSFER
Saleh has defied pressure to accept the transition plan brokered by the Saudi-led Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Three times, he has backed away from signing it at the last minute.
"The transition seems to be on track as per the GCC initiative. There will be many obstacles down the road, but without Saleh's destructive presence, we can overcome them," said Yemeni political analyst Abdul-Ghani al-Iryani.
The future of Yemen, where shifting alliances of tribal leaders, generals and politicians compete for power, is uncertain. Saleh's sons and relatives remain in the country, commanding elite military units and security agencies.
Other contenders in a possible power struggle include the well-armed Hashed tribal federation, breakaway military leaders, Islamists, leftists and an angry public seeking relief from crippling poverty, corruption and failing public services.
Youthful protesters have been celebrating Saleh's departure, but are wary of any attempt by the wily leader to return.
"In the near term, the biggest challenge is to set up a viable political reform process that has the general backing of the population, and allows Yemen to return to normal after months of unrest," the EIU's Powell said.
"In the medium term, Yemen's biggest challenge is economic — already the poorest country in the Middle East, it is running out of oil and water, and unless it can find alternative drivers of growth an economic collapse is entirely feasible," he said.
(Additional reporting by Nour Merza in Dubai, Arshad Mohammed in Washington and Alistair Lyon in London; Writing by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Jon Hemming)
Posted in Geo-Politics | Tagged: al qaeda, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Ali Abdullah Saleh, Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, Economist Intelligence Unit, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Saudi Arabia, United States, yemen | Comments Off on Thousands of Yemenis protest for Saleh to stay out
US has no plans to 'assassinate' Gaddafi, Obama tells lawmakers
Posted by Admin on March 27, 2011
http://in.news.yahoo.com/us-no-plans-assassinate-gaddafi-obama-tells-lawmakers-20110325-231651-149.html
By ANI | ANI – Sat, Mar 26, 2011 11:46 AM IST
Washington, Mar 26 (ANI): US President Barack Obama has told congressional leaders that the US military would not be used to assassinate Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, sources familiar with Friday's briefing at the White House have said.
"There was a discussion of how we have other ways of regime change. It's not our role to do anything at this point from a kinetic point of view. It is our goal for regime change, but we're not going to do it from a kinetic point of view," Politico quoted Maryland Representative Dutch Ruppersberger, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, as saying.
Another source briefed on the one-hour meeting confirmed that claim, saying: "It's not just military efforts that can force his removal."
The president, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mike Mullen and Gen. Carter Ham, commander of U.S. Africa Command, were among the administration officials briefing lawmakers involved in the Friday meeting and conference call.
Although many lawmakers have complained against Obama's decision to strike Libyan defenses in support of a "no-fly" zone without prior congressional approval, Ruppersberger praised Obama's handling of the situation.
"He took decisive action. He took action that was focused, and he did it pursuant to a world coalition," Ruppersberger added.
Earlier, Arizona senator John Mccain while supporting the President's decision to intervene militarily in Libya, remained concerned that the current efforts might not be enough to avoid a 'stalemate and accomplish the US objective of forcing Gaddafi to leave power'.
Newly taciturn president decides maybe he should say something about Libya after all (hotair.com)
Obama: We won't kill kadhafi… (politico.com)
Libya: Strikes Help Rebels Retake Ajdabiyah (time.com)
War on Libya and Control of The Mediterranean (revolutionizingawareness.com)
Libya: Rebels Regain Ajdabiyah After Strikes (time.com)
Who are the Libyan Freedom Fighters and Their Patrons? (revolutionizingawareness.com)
Libyan rebels regain besieged city of Ajdabiya (independent.co.uk)
Libya Rebels Seize Momentum, Take Back Key Oil Town (huffingtonpost.com)
'We're succeeding in Libya' says Barack Obama as rebels re-take key city of Ajdabiyah (dailymail.co.uk)
Obama seeks to assure lawmakers on Libya strategy (reuters.com)
Posted in Geo-Politics | Tagged: Barack Obama, Carter Ham, Dutch Ruppersberger, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Libya, Muammar al-Gaddafi, United States, United States Africa Command | Comments Off on US has no plans to 'assassinate' Gaddafi, Obama tells lawmakers
West moves to help Libya uprising, Gadhafi digs in
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110228/ap_on_re_af/af_libya
By MAGGIE MICHAEL, Associated Press Maggie Michael, Associated Press – 23 mins ago
TRIPOLI, Libya – The U.S. military deployed naval and air units near Libya, and the West moved to send its first concrete aid to Libya's rebellion in the east of the country, hoping to give it the momentum to oust Moammar Gadhafi. But the Libyan leader's regime clamped down in its stronghold in the capital and appeared to be maneuvering to strike opposition-held cities.
In Washington, Defense Department spokesman Col. Dave Lapan said the naval and air forces were deployed to have flexibility as Pentagon planners worked on contingency plans, but did not elaborate. The U.S. has a regular military presence in the Mediterranean Sea.
The European Union slapped an arms embargo, visa ban and other sanctions on Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's regime, as British Prime Minister David Cameron told British lawmakers Monday he is working with allies on a plan to establish a military no-fly zone over Libya, since "we do not in any way rule out the use of military assets" to deal with Gadhafi's embattled regime.
In the most direct U.S. demand for Gadhafi to step down, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the Libyan leader must leave power "now, without further violence or delay."
France was sending two planes with humanitarian aid, including medicine and doctors, to Benghazi, the opposition stronghold in eastern Libya, French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said. That would be the first direct Western aid to the uprising that has taken control of the entire eastern half of Libya. Fillon said it was the start of a "massive operation of humanitarian support" for the east and that Paris was studying "all solutions" — including military options.
The two sides in Libya's crisis appeared entrenched in their positions, and the direction the uprising takes next could depend on which can hold out longest. Gadhafi is dug in in Tripoli and nearby cities, backed by security forces and militiamen who are generally better armed than the military. His opponents, holding the east and much of the country's oil infrastructure, also have pockets in western Libya near Tripoli. They are backed by mutinous army units, but those forces appear to have limited supplies of ammunition and weapons.
In the two opposition-held cities closest to Tripoli — Zawiya and Misrata — rebel forces were locked in standoffs with Gadhafi loyalists.
An Associated Press reporter saw a large pro-Gadhafi force massed on the western edge of Zawiya, some 30 miles (50 kilometers) west of Tripoli, with about a dozen armored vehicles and tanks and jeeps mounted with anti-aircraft guns. An officer said they were from the elite Khamis Brigade, named after the Gadhafi son who commands it. U.S. diplomats have said the brigade is the best equipped force in Libya.
Click image to see photos of protests in Libya
AFP/Fred Dufour
Residents inside the city said they were anticipating a possible attack.
"Our people are waiting for them to come and, God willing, we will defeat them," one resident who only wanted to be quoted by his first name, Alaa, told AP in Cairo by telephone.
In Misrata, Libya's third largest city 125 miles (200 kilometers) east of Tripoli, Gadhafi troops who control part of an air base on the city's outskirts tried to advance Monday. But they were repelled by opposition forces, who include residents armed with automatic weapons and army unites allied with them, one of the opposition fighters said.
He said there were no casualties reported in the clashes and claimed that his side had captured eight soldiers, including a senior officer.
The opposition controls most of the air base, and the fighter said dozens of anti-Gadhafi gunmen have arrived from further east in recent days as reinforcements.
Several residents of the eastern city of Ajdabiya said Gadhafi's air force also bombed an ammunition depot nearby held by the opposition. One, 17-year-old Abdel-Bari Zwei, reported intermittent explosions and a fire, and another, Faraj al-Maghrabi, said the facility was partially damaged. The site contains bombs, missiles and ammunition — key for the undersupplied opposition military forces.
State TV carried a statement by Libya's Defense Ministry denying any attempt to bomb the depot. Ajdabiya lies about 450 miles (750 kilometers) east of Tripoli along the Mediterranean coast.
Gadhafi opponents have moved to consolidate their hold in the east, centered on Benghazi — Libya's second largest city, where the uprising began. Politicians there on Sunday set up their first leadership council to manage day-to-day affairs, taking a step toward forming what could be an alternative to Gadhafi's regime.
The opposition is backed by numerous units of the military in the east that joined the uprising, and they hold several bases and Benghazi's airport. But so far, the units do not appear to have melded into a unified fighting force. Gadhafi long kept the military weak, fearing a challenge to his rule, so many units are plagued by shortages of supplies and ammunition.
Gadhafi supporters said Monday that they were in control of the city of Sabratha, west of Tripoli, which has seemed to go back and forth between the two camps the past week. Several residents told The Associated Press that protesters set fire to a police station, but then were dispersed. Anti-Gadhafi graffiti — "Down with the enemy of freedom" and "Libya is free, Gadhafi must leave" — were scrawled on some walls, but residents were painting them over.
In the capital, several hundred protesters started a march in the eastern district of Tajoura, which has been the scene of frequent clashes. After the burial of a person killed in gunfire last week, mourners began to march down a main street, chanting against the Libyan leader and waving the flag of Libya's pre-Gadhafi monarchy, which has become a symbol of the uprising, a witness said.
But they quickly dispersed once a brigade of pro-Gadhafi fighters rushed to the scene, scattering before the gunmen could fire a shot, the witness said. He and other residents in the capital spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.
There were attempts to restore aspects of normalcy in the capital, residents said. Many stores downtown reopened, and traffic in the streets increased.
Tripoli was in turmoil on Friday, when residents said gunmen opened fire indiscriminately on protesters holding new marches. But since then, the capital has been quiet — especially since foreign journalists invited by Gadhafi's regime to view the situation arrived Friday.
Long lines formed outside banks in the capital by Libyans wanting to receive the equivalent of $400 per family that Gadhafi pledged in a bid to shore up public loyalty.
One resident said pro-Gadhafi security forces man checkpoints around the city of 2 million and prowl the city for any sign of unrest. She told The Associated Press that the price of rice, a main staple, has gone up 500 percent amid the crisis, reaching the equivalent of $40 for a five-kilogram (10-pound) bag.
Bakeries are limited to selling five loaves of bread per family, and most butcher shops are closed, she said.
Some schools reopened, but only for a half day and attendance was low. "My kids are too afraid to leave home and they even sleep next to me at night," said Sidiq al-Damjah, 41 and father of three. "I feel like I'm living a nightmare."
Gadhafi has launched by far the bloodiest crackdown in a wave of anti-government uprisings sweeping the Arab world, the most serious challenge to his four decades in power. The United States, Britain and the U.N. Security Council all slapped sanctions on Libya this weekend.
In Geneva, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was meeting Monday with foreign ministers from Britain, France, Germany and Italy, pressing for tough sanctions on the Libyan government. A day earlier, Clinton kept up pressure for Gadhafi to step down and "call off the mercenaries" and other troops that remain loyal to him.
"We've been reaching out to many different Libyans who are attempting to organize in the east and as the revolution moves westward there as well," Clinton said. "I think it's way too soon to tell how this is going to play out, but we're going to be ready and prepared to offer any kind of assistance that anyone wishes to have from the United States."
Two U.S. senators said Washington should recognize and arm a provisional government in rebel-held areas of eastern Libya and impose a no-fly zone over the area — enforced by U.S. warplanes — to stop attacks by the regime. But Fillon said a no-fly zone needed U.N. support "which is far from being obtained today."
Sabratha, 40 miles (65 kilometers) west of Tripoli — a city known for nearby Roman ruins — showed signs of the tug-of-war between the two camps. On Monday, when the journalists invited to Libya by the government visited, many people were lined up at banks to collect their $400. When they saw journalists, they chanted, "God, Moammar and Libya."
Ali Mohammed, a leader from the Alalqa tribe, the main tribe in the area, said in previous days Gadhafi opponents burned the main police station, an Internal Security office and the People's Hall, where the local administration meets. "I then held a meeting with the protesters to stop these acts the people said they will control their children and since then there has been no problems," he said.
"The thugs and rats were roaming the streets and they attacked the police station and then they disappeared," said resident Taher Ali, who was collecting his $400. "They are rats and thugs. We are all with Moammar."
An anti-Gadhafi activist in Sabratha told The Associated Press in Cairo by telephone that the opposition raided the police station and security offices last week for weapons, and had dominated parts of city. But then on Sunday, a large force of pro-Gadhafi troops deployed in the city, "so we withdrew," he said.
"The city is not controlled by us or them. There are still skirmishes going on," he said.
In Tripoli, a government spokesman blamed the West and Islamic militants for the upheaval, saying they had hijacked and escalated what he said began as "genuine" but small protests demanding "legitimate aand much needed political improvements."
"On one hand, Islamists love to see chaos … this is paradise for them," he said. "The West wants chaos to give them reason to intervene militarily to control the oil."
"The Islamists want Libya to be their Afghanistan … to complete their crescent of terror," he said. "This is not the first time the Islamic militants and the west find common cause."
AP correspondents Hamza Hendawi, Bassem Mroue and Ben Hubbard in Cairo, and Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report.
Libya quashes protest in Tripoli; West to aid east (sfgate.com)
Gadhafi forces, Libyan rebels in tense stand-off (cbc.ca)
"Government formed in East Libya by former justice minister, prepare for elections" and related posts (yalibnan.com)
Food Prices Spiral in Libya Capital Amid Crackdown (abcnews.go.com)
Tripoli protests draw gunfire, fleeing Africans branded 'mercenaries' (theglobeandmail.com)
Food prices spiral in Libya capital amid crackdown (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
West Sends Aid to Libyan Rebels (online.wsj.com)
Rebels 'down' Libyan aircraft (calgaryherald.com)
The Obama administration offered "any type of assistance" to Libyans seeking to oust the longtime leader. (publicblognewspostingservice.com)
"Food prices spiral in Libya capital amid crackdown" and related posts (dailycaller.com)
France Begins 'Massive' Aid Effort for Libyan Opposition – Voice of America (news.google.com)
Posted in Economic Upheavals | Tagged: associated press, change, European Union, geo politics, Hillary Rodham Clinton, hypocrisy, Libya, mass movement, Misurata, Moammar Gadhafi, Muammar al-Gaddafi, Oil, resources, revolutions, Tripoli, trouble, truth, Western world | Comments Off on West moves to help Libya uprising, Gadhafi digs in
China knows less about NKorea than thought
Posted by Admin on November 30, 2010
By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN, Associated Press – 27 mins ago
BEIJING – China knows less about and has less influence over its close ally North Korea than is usually presumed and is likely to eventually accept a reunified peninsula under South Korean rule, according to U.S. diplomatic files leaked to the WikiLeaks website.
The memos — called cables, though they were mostly encrypted e-mails — paint a picture of three countries struggling to understand an isolated, hard-line regime in the face of a dearth of information and indicate American and South Korean diplomats' reliance on China's analysis and interpretation.
The release of the documents, which included discussions of contingency plans for the regime's collapse and speculation about when that might come, follows new tensions in the region. North Korea unleashed a fiery artillery barrage on a South Korean island that killed four people a week ago and has since warned that joint U.S.-South Korean naval drills this week are pushing the peninsula to the "brink of war."
The shelling comes on the heels of a slew of other provocative acts: An illegal nuclear test and several missile tests, the torpedoing of a SouthKorean warship and, most recently, an announcement that in addition to its plutonium program, it may also be pursuing the uranium path to a nuclear bomb.
The memos give a window into a period prior to the latest tensions, but they paint a picture of three countries struggling to understand isolated and unpredictable North Korea.
In the cables, China sometimes seems unaware of or uncertain about issues ranging from who will succeed North Korean leader Kim Jong Il to the regime's uranium enrichment plans and its nuclear test, suggesting that the North plays its cards close to its chest even with its most important ally.
Questioned about the enriched uranium program in June last year, Chinese officials said they believed that was program was "only in an initial phase" — a characterization that now appears to have been a gross underestimate.
China is Pyongyang's closest ally — Beijing fought on the northern side of the Korean War and its aid props up the current regime — and its actions have often served to insulate North Korea from foreign pressure. It has repeatedly opposed harsh economic sanctions and responded to the latest crises by repeating calls for a return to long-stalled, six-nation denuclearization talks that the North has rejected.
But China would appear to have little ability to stop a collapse and less influence over the authorities in Pyongyang than is widely believed, South Korea's then-vice foreign minister, Chun Yung-woo, is quoted telling American Ambassador Kathleen Stephens in February.
China lacks the will to push Pyongyang to change its behavior, according to Chun, but Beijing will not necessarily oppose the U.S. and South Korea in the case of a North Korean collapse.
China "would be comfortable with a reunified Korea controlled by Seoul and anchored to the US in a 'benign alliance' as long as Korea was not hostile towards China," Chun said.
Economic opportunities in a reunified Korea could further induce Chinese acquiescence, he said.
The diplomatic cables warn, however, that China would not accept the presence of U.S. troops north of the demilitarized zone that currently forms the North-South border.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said China would not comment specifically on the cables.
"China consistently supports dialogue between the North and South sides of the Korean peninsula to improve their relations," Hong said at a regularly scheduled news conference.
In the leaked cable, Chun predicts the government in Pyongyang would last no more than three years following the death of ailing leader Kim Jong Il, who is seeking to transfer power to his youngest son Kim JongUn, a political ingenue in his 20s.
Chun also dismisses the possibility of Chinese military intervention if North Korea descended into chaos.
Despite that, China is preparing to handle any outbreaks of unrest along the border that could follow a collapse of the regime. Chinese officials say they could deal with up to 300,000 refugees, but might have to seal the border to maintain order, the memos say, citing an unidentified representative of an international aid group.
Chinese officials are also quoted using mocking language in reference to North Korea, pointing to tensions between the two neighbors in contrast to official statements underscoring strong historical ties.
Then-Deputy Foreign Minister He Yafei is quoted as telling a U.S. official in April 2009 that Pyongyang was acting like a "spoiled child" by staging a missile test in an attempt to achieve its demand of bilateral talks with Washington.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday that WikiLeaks acted illegally in posting the leaked documents. Officials around the world have said the disclosure jeopardizes national security, diplomats, intelligence assets and relationships between foreign governments.
Five international media organizations, including The New York Times and Britain's Guardian newspaper, were among those to receive the documents in advance. WikiLeaks is also slowly posting all the material on its own site.
China knows less about NKorea than thought: leaks (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
"S.Korea bolsters troops on bombarded island, warns N.Korea" and related posts (defencetalk.com)
China doubtful of N.Korea as ally: U.S. cables (reuters.com)
Tokyo rejects near-term 6-party talks on NKorea (foxnews.com)
Tokyo rejects near-term 6-party talks on NKorea (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
Tokyo rejects near-term 6-party talks on NKorea (sfgate.com)
WikiLeaks: China, North Korea Not As Cooperative As Presumed (huffingtonpost.com)
Wikileaks Reveals Plans for North Korea Collapse (ricojr2010.wordpress.com)
WikiLeaks reveals plans for collapse of North Korea (theglobeandmail.com)
Japan's top N.Korea envoy to visit China Tuesday – AFP (news.google.com)
Posted in Press Releases | Tagged: Beijing, china, global elite, Hillary Rodham Clinton, journalism, media, msm, north korea, Pyongyang, revelations, south korea, trouble, truth, United States, Wikileaks | Comments Off on China knows less about NKorea than thought