U.S. Exploring Nuclear Deal with Pakistan

By Jim Bakker | | Filed in Uncategorized | Tags: , ,

Pakistan has one of the fastest-growing nuclear arsenal on Earth, and the Obama administration is exploring a deal that would attempt to limit their nuclear capabilities.

The talks will be the first in the decade since Adul Qadeer Khan, one of the founders of Pakistan’s nuclear program, was caught selling the country’s nuclear technology around the world. The discussion of a deal is also taking place in advance of the arrival of Pakistan’s prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, who will be in Washington next week. Officials are concerned that the Middle Eastern country may be close to deploying a small nuclear weapon.

“If Pakistan would take the actions requested by the United States, it would essentially amount to recognition of rehabilitation and would essentially amount to parole,” George Perkovich, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told the New York Times of the potential agreement.

The deal would loosen controls on Pakistan by the Nuclear Suppliers Group, a group of countries that supply nuclear materials in attempts to see the number of nuclear weapons grow rapidly.

Experts that are familiar with the discussions showed skepticism that Pakistan would agree to the deal. They are not likely to put restrictions on a program that is the pride of the nation and their only defense against India.

Iran Broadcasts Rare Images of Underground Missile Base

By Jim Bakker | | Filed in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , ,

Iran revealed a secret underground missile base in an unprecedented broadcast on Iranian state television on Wednesday, showing where medium and long-range missiles were being stored.

The pictures were from The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force and gave the world a look into tunnel that is about 10 meters high and houses many missiles that were sitting on their launch pads, ready to be fired. Also featured in the pictures were numerous Iranian soldiers and other pieces of hardware. The tunnel is reportedly buried 500 meters (1,640 feet) underneath a mountain, but the exact location is unknown.

The underground missile bases make it more difficult for spy satellites to pinpoint the location of the missiles and arms caches.

A senior general told state media that there were numerous missile bases scattered across the country and that all of their weapons would be getting an upgrade very soon.

“As of next year, a new and advanced generation of long-range liquid and solid fuel missiles will replace the current products,” said Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh.

“The missiles in various ranges are mounted on the launchers in all bases and (are) ready to be launched.”

The broadcast comes days after Iran tested a ballistic missile, which French and American officials are calling a violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution. The Security Council resolution 1929, which went into effect in 2010, states that Iran is banned from ballistic missile tests.

It has also been reported that Iran recently sent hundreds of troops into Syria to join their Hezbollah ally in an offensive against the rebels. The Iranian fighters have been deployed near Aleppo to retake the city with the help of Russian air strikes, rocket launchers, and artillery.

President Obama Changes Plan, Troops to Stay in Afghanistan into 2017

By Jim Bakker | | Filed in Uncategorized | Tags: , , ,

Senior administration officials announced that President Barack Obama has decided to keep 5,500 U.S. troops across Afghanistan into 2017, ending his original plans of bringing home most American forces from the Middle Eastern country before the end of his term.

A senior administration official stated the president’s decision came after an “extensive months-long review” along with regular discussions between U.S. commanders in the field, the national security team, and Afghanistan’s leaders.

The new plan slows the pace of the reduction of American forces in the war-torn country. An anonymous official reported that the current U.S. force 9,800 will be staying in Afghanistan through “most of 2016.” After 2016, the remaining troops will focus on training and advising the Afghan army. The U.S. will also continue to using drones and Special Operations forces to strike al-Qaeda and other forces who may be plotting attacks against the United States.

The decision comes after Taliban forces took control of the northern city of Kunduz approximately two weeks ago, causing a major battle with Afghan forces on the ground and U.S. airstrikes supporting them.

U.S. Deploys Troops in Cameroon to Fight Boko Haram

By Jim Bakker | | Filed in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , ,

On Wednesday, President Barack Obama announced that 300 U.S. troops have been deployed in Cameroon to fight against the Islamic terrorist group, Boko Haram.

Obama wrote a letter to Congress stating that the soldiers would provide “intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance” in the region and work with West African soldiers. Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, stated that the troops will be armed for self defense purposes and will not engage in combat.

On Monday, an advance force of 90 troops were sent to Cameroon, a country that borders Nigeria. Officials said that the troops will also have unarmed Predator drones that will aid the multinational task force made up of soldiers from Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Benin, and Nigeria.

Until now, the U.S. has been giving Nigerian forces equipment and providing training for their soldiers as an effort to help defeat Boko Haram. The Islamic terrorist group has destroyed many villages in Niger, Chad, Nigeria, and Cameroon. The violence by Boko Haram has left 17,000 people dead since 2009 when the attacks began, according to Amnesty International. UNICEF also reported that 1.4 million children have been displaced by Boko Haram in Nigeria and neighboring countries.

Boko Haram claims to be a part of the Islamic State, but it is unclear if the two groups have coordinated their attacks.

China Third Quarter Growth Weakest Since 2009

By Jim Bakker | | Filed in Uncategorized | Tags: , ,

Policymakers are feeling the pressure to make new support measures as China’s economic growth in the third quarter fell to 6.8%, the weakest it’s been since 2009.

Chinese leaders are scrambling to reassure global markets that Beijing has the capability to manage the world’s second-largest economy even after suffering from the devaluation of the yuan and a stock market plunge that took place over the summer.

According to Reuters poll of 50 economists, China’s growth in the third quarter last year also saw a drop to 6.8%. The lowest expansion seen was in 2009, when China saw it fall to 6.2%

Some investors fear that growth levels could already be weaker than the official data suggests, creating skepticism about the reliability of Chinese official data.

“We expect the government to maintain loose monetary policy and step up fiscal spending in response to the economic slowdown,” economists at China International Capital Corp (CICC), a domestic investment bank, said in a note.

“We believe that loosening measures may help cushion the slowing momentum in economic growth but it’s difficult to reverse the long-term downward trend.”

Beijing is still in line with its full target for the year as the first two quarters saw economic growth of 7.0%, despite property downturn, industrial overcapacity, and weak exports and imports. Currently, the government claims that the reports have not been inflated to meet official forecasts.

Israel Increases Security to Battle Escalating Violence

By Jim Bakker | | Filed in Uncategorized | Tags: , , ,

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is keeping his promise to try and combat the escalating violence in Israel, by deploying extra soldiers in cities across the country and setting up roadblocks in Palestinian neighborhoods.

“Today we … decide on a series of vigorous steps in our fight against the sources of terrorism and incitement,” the Prime Minister said. “They will be implemented as quickly as possible.”

In an overnight session, Israel’s security cabinet authorized the security measures after Palestinians with guns and knives killed three Israelis and injured several others on Tuesday. The approved measures included increasing the ranks of the Israeli police, 300 new security guards for public transportation, and authorization given to police to surround “centers of friction and incitement” in Jerusalem.

Additional measures include “terrorists” having their permanent resident rights revoked and the government confiscating their property. Palestinian neighborhoods will be cordoned off, and Israeli authorities will have the ability to demolish homes of attackers with no rebuilding allowed.

“We’re taking things step by step, stage by stage,” said police spokesman, Micky Rosenfeld. “We’re working carefully and cautiously in order to prevent and respond to any further attacks today in Jerusalem.”

Palestinian officials called the increase in security a collective punishment and condemned Israel’s actions. Human Rights Watch also disagreed with the new security measures.

“Locking down east Jerusalem neighborhoods will infringe upon the freedom of movement of all Palestinian residents rather than being a narrowly tailored response to a specific concern,” said Sari Bashi of Human Rights Watch.

Secretary of State John Kerry announced that he would be visiting the Middle East very soon to help calm the situation, but he did not state when exactly he plans to go.

Some have suggested that the violence is part of a third Palestinian uprising, also known as an intifada. Others dismiss this theory, saying it is unrest that is due to the absence of an progress toward peace.

“We’ve tried negotiations and it didn’t work,” a Palestinian youth in the West Bank city of Hebron told CNN. “So now we will fight.”

And the Israeli government is not going to give in.

“Israel will settle accounts with the murderers, those who attempt murder, and all those who assist them,” Netanyahu said. “Not only will they not enjoy their privileges, but we will exact from them the full cost.

“Anyone who raises his hand to harm us — will pay dearly. And we will not hesitate to use all means at our disposal to restore peace to the cities of Israel.”

Putin Claims that Russia is Still Fighting ISIS and the U.S. is Getting in the Way

By Jim Bakker | | Filed in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , ,

As tensions rise between the U.S. and Russia over the situation in Syria, both sides claim that their main priority is to eradicate ISIS.

U.S. officials continue to accuse Russian President Putin’s new bombing campaign in Syria is to boost the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Multiple maps have shown Russia’s targets in Syria, and the majority of targets have been key locations of U.S.-backed Syrian rebels, not ISIS. And again, Putin has brushed off these accusations.

“What we are trying to achieve is to contribute to the fight against terrorism, which is a threat to both the United States to Russia to European countries and the whole world,” Putin said at an investment conference.

Boths sides disagree on how the civil war in Syria can be resolved and how ISIS can be defeated. Russia believes al-Assad needs to remain in power while the U.S. says the Syrian president needs to step down.

Putin claimed that his administration warned the United States out of “respect” before they began using airstrikes in Syria. They also sought cooperation on targets. Washington has been reluctant to work with Russia as they fear Russia would use their coordinates to target the rebels that the U.S. does not want targeted. The Syrian rebels are also already suspicious that the U.S. is already working with Russia on attacks, and U.S. officials do not want to feed those suspicions.

The Russian president also ridiculed the U.S. over their attempt to arm the Syrian rebels with air dropped munitions. He believes that the supplies will end up in the hands of ISIS.

“The United States has recognized that it was a failure and right now they keep distributing ammunition, hardware, equipment,” Putin said. “Who will get a hold of those? And it is not a rhetorical question.”

While U.S. officials state the main priority in Syria is to defeat ISIS rather than counter Russia’s involvement in the Syrian civil war, they will be holding a third meeting with officials from the Russian Ministry of Defense via video conference on Wednesday. They hope to establish safety protocols for aircrews flying over Syria.

Study Shows Rising Sea-Levels Will Bring Drastic Flooding to the U.S.

By Jim Bakker | | Filed in Uncategorized | Tags: , , ,

In the latest study, a team of scientists discovered that millions of Americans may already live on land that is destined to be reclaimed by the sea.

While some locations are only at risk of flooding, others are doomed to flood in the distant future. However, the process could speed up due to the rise of carbon dioxide emissions and the destabilization of West Antarctica’s ice sheet.

“Future emissions will determine which areas we can continue to occupy or may have to abandon,” note the report’s researchers, led by Benjamin Strauss of Climate Central in Princeton, N.J. The research appeared Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and was co-authored by Scott Kulp of Climate Central and Anders Levermann of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany.

The research states: “Carbon choices determine US cities committed to futures below sea level.” For every one degree Celsius of warming, the scientists estimate that the sea-level will rise about 2.3 meters over the next 2,000 years. However, there is a possibility that it could happen sooner.

Using the link between climate warming and eventual ice melt, the researchers estimate that with current carbon emissions, the world is already destined to see the sea-level rise 1.6 meters – more than five feet. That isn’t taking into consideration the increase of carbon emissions that will exist in the future, which could make the sea-level rise by more than seven feet.

If no action is taken on climate change, the locations of over 26 million Americans could be flooded with more than 1,500 U.S. cities and municipalities overrun with water.

“If we don’t cut emissions,” Strauss said, “we’re talking about losing American land [that’s] home to more people than live in any state, except for California and Texas. Home to more people than the state of Florida and New York.”

The authors of the study also directly acknowledge gaps in the research. This includes cities that have taken steps to deal with extreme flooding scenarios like New Orleans’ 26-foot-high sea wall. Louisiana is also contemplating diversions of the Mississippi River that would not only create new wetlands, but keep pace with the rising seas. This means that as the sea-levels slowly rise, cities might be able to adapt.

Netanyahu Vows to Control Violence Day before “Day of Rage” Attacks

By Jim Bakker | | Filed in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , ,

Hours after a teenage Israeli boy was stabbed and in critical condition on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed parliament and angrily accused Israel’s Arab lawmakers for helping incite the weeks of violence.

In past meetings, lawmakers from the Joint (Arab) list have walked out when Netanyahu has stood at the podium. Netanyahu has called for an investigation of several members of the Joint (Arab) list, including MK Hanin Zoabi. Netanyahu claims that she, among others, supports Palestinian acts of terror against Israelis.

“She said to a Hamas magazine just two days ago that the actions of individuals isn’t enough and there needs to be a real intifada,” he went on. “This is unbelievable, honored colleagues. A member of Knesset in Israel calls for wholesale terror attacks against Israeli citizens, and there’s nothing more justified than opening a criminal investigation against her.”

Netanyahu called out to the Arab citizens of Israel, asking them to “kick out the extremists among you.”

While Netanyahu did take action in parliament, many are putting Israel’s Prime Minister under heavy criticism for failing to stop the violence. An opinion poll this week showed that 70% of the public is unhappy with his handling of the situation.

The escalation of violence in Israel began a month ago with a rumor that Israel planned on taking over the Temple Mount, a holy site to both Muslims and Jews. Since then, the violence has spread from the Temple Mount to the Old City, West Bank, and Gaza Strip.

Despite the increase in security, the random nature of the stabbings have made it difficult for Israeli police to stop the attacks. Many of the attackers have been teenagers who are not affiliated with militant groups. Seven Israelis have been killed in stabbings, a shooting, and a stoning attack, while 27 Palestinians have been killed. Out of the 25, 10 were attackers.

It doesn’t seem the violence will stop any time soon. Reports say that on Tuesday, a Palestinian man armed with knives and a gun killed at least three people and wounded others in a wave of attacks in Jerusalem. Palestinian groups declared Tuesday a “Day of Rage.” Within an hour, another Palestinian man stabbed and wounded four other people in Raanana according to Israeli police.

The increased stabbings has raised speculation that Palestinians may be attempting another uprising intifada, showing how the citizens are frustrated over their leadership’s failure of achieving statehood.

Police reported that Netanyahu has scheduled a meeting at 3:00 p.m. to discuss new operational plans.

Goldman Sachs: The Third Wave of 2008’s Financial Crisis is Coming

By Jim Bakker | | Filed in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , ,

In 2008, the U.S. real estate and investment banking collapsed, resulting in a financial disaster that is returning in a third wave.

Goldman Sachs analysts led by Peter Oppenheimer stated that the new crisis is characterized by a triple-whammy of rock bottom commodities prices, China’s stalling growth and other emerging markets economies, and low global inflation. The triple-whammy is a result of the banking collapse and European sovereign debt crisis, what experts call a debt supercycle that has taken place over the last few decades.

During the first two debt-fuelled crises, central banks all began to lower interest rates, encouraging investors to lend in emerging markets like China for a decent return. However, now that interest rates may be on the rise, lenders are pulling out of commodities.

During the first wave in 2008, the same situation happened along with the crash of the U.S. housing market. The low interest rates were put into place to grow credit and increase leverage, particularly in China. Combine this with China trying to escape the middle-income trap and the plunge of global commodity prices, and a new crisis is not very far away. At best, the situation would be a painful readjustment period for China.

The global economy will soon slow down thanks to developed economies raising interest rates. The raised rates will also apply to safer assets such as government bonds, which gives investors less incentive to take risks overseas in emerging markets. Without the investments, emerging market companies can’t fund big projects, which in turn, slows down the global economy.

What makes the situation even worse, is that recovery from the crisis is continuously stalled due to the different stages of the economy interacting with each other. In 2010 and 2011, the EU sovereign debt crisis derailed the U.S. economic recovery.

What will it take for the world to recover from the financial crisis? All excess lending in emerging markets have to be worked through, and investors will have to take losses.