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"For decades, China was viewed by U.S. strategists as a struggling communist nation with a massive population that really did not represent any kind of strategic threat to the United States at all. But that has now dramatically changed. Thanks to trade agreements that are extremely favorable to China, the "Great Dragon" has risen and has become a formidable economic machine. Already accounting for a fifth of humanity, this new economic muscle has also allowed Beijing to dramatically reform and upgrade the Chinese military. Now China is without a doubt a world superpower and it stands poised to be a major player on the world stage during the last days. So just how powerful of an economic force is China now? Well, in 2010 China is expected to replace Japan as the world's second-largest economy. Not only that, but China has overtaken Germany and is now the biggest exporter in the entire world. Let that sink in for a bit. China sells more stuff to other countries than anyone else in the world. That fact alone is enough to make China an economic superpower. Citizens of the U.S. like to think of themselves as the greatest economic superpower, but the reality is that the average American is drowning in debt. In fact, the average American piled up even more debt this past Christmas season buying cheap plastic stuff made in China to exchange with family members around the ole Christmas tree."

"n a sign of the growing confidence of the Chinese military, Admiral Yin Zhuo said that the country may set up a base in the Gulf of Aden in order to support missions against Somali pirates. Since the end of last year, China has sent four flotillas to the Middle East in order to take part in anti-piracy operations together with US, European, Indian and Russian warships. The latest mission, which departed from China in October, involved two missile frigates. Mr Yin said a permanent base in the region would help supply Chinese ships. "We are not saying we need our navy everywhere in order to fulfil our international commitments," he said, cautiously. "We are saying to fulfil our international commitments, we need to strengthen our supply capacity." His words, which came just a few days after China rescued 25 sailors from Somali pirates, were posted in an interview on the Defence ministry website. China is reported to have paid a USD4 million (Pounds2.5 million) ransom to free the De Xin Hai, a coal carrier. Mr Yin, who is a senior researcher at the navy's Equipment Research centre, pointed out that the first Chinese ships in the Gulf of Aden spent 124 days at sea without docking, a logistical challenge. However, Chinese ships have since been permitted to dock at a French base. "If China establishes a similar long-term supply base, I believe that the nations in the region and the other countries involved with the (anti-pirate) escorts would understand," he said. "I think a permanent, stable base would be good for our operations.""

"BEIJING (Reuters) - "Ride on a tiger and it's hard to climb down," goes a Chinese saying that is proving apt for Beijing's quarrels with Washington this year, when swollen ambitions at home are driving China on a harder tack abroad. China | COP15 China's outrage over U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and President Barack Obama's planned meeting with the Dalai Lama has shown that, in the wake of the global financial crisis, Beijing is growing pushier in public. In past decades, a poorer, more cautious China greeted U.S. weapons sales to the disputed island with angry words and little else. Not now, as China enters the Year of the Tiger in its traditional lunar calendar cycle of talismanic animals. The Obama administration last week announced plans to ship $6.4 billion of missiles, helicopters and weapons control systems to the self-ruled island Beijing calls its own. China threatened to downgrade cooperation with Washington and for the first time sanction companies involved in such sales. Beijing this week also condemned Obama's plan to meet the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader reviled by China. China's loud ire adds to signs the country is becoming surer about throwing around its political weight, growing along with an economy soon likely to whir past Japan's as the world's second biggest, though it will still trail far behind the United States. Behind this assertiveness are domestic pressures likely to make it harder work for China's leaders to cool disputes with Washington and other Western capitals. "There is this paradox of increasing confidence externally and lack of confidence domestically," said Susan Shirk, a professor specializing in Chinese foreign policy at the University of California, San Diego. "There's also what I consider a serious misperception of the country's economic strength and how that translates in power.""

"WASHINGTON - For the past year, China has struck an increasingly muscular position with the United States, berating American officials for the global economic crisis, stage-managing President Obama's visit to China last November, refusing to back a tougher climate change agreement in Copenhagen and standing fast against American demands for tough new Security Council sanctions against Iran. Now, the Obama administration has started to push back. In announcing an arms sales package to Taiwan worth $6 billion on Friday, the United States leveled a direct strike at the heart of the most sensitive diplomatic issue that has existed between the two countries since America affirmed the one-China policy in 1972. The arms package was doubly infuriating to Beijing, coming so soon after President Bush announced a similar arms package to Taiwan in 2008, and right as Beijing and Taipei are in the middle of a détente of sorts in their own relations. China's immediate, and outraged, reaction-canceling some military-to-military exchanges and announcing punitive sanctions against American companies - demonstrates, China experts said, that Beijing is feeling a little burned, particularly because the Taiwan arms announcement came on the same day that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton publicly berated China for not taking a stronger position on holding Iran accountable for its nuclear program."

" Published: 7:00AM GMT 03 Jan 2010 The year is 2050, and a diplomatic dispute between China and Britain risks escalating into all-out war. But rather than launching a barrage of ballistic missiles and jet fighters to destroy key British targets, Beijing has a far simpler plan for defeating its enemy. It simply turns off the lights. At the flick of a switch elite teams of Chinese hackers attached to the People's Liberation Army (PLA) launch a hi-tech assault on Britain's computer systems, with devastating consequences. Within minutes the country's power stations, water companies, air traffic control, government and financial systems are totally shut down. Related Articles * 'Dad believed he was a July 7 bomber' * Lord Adonis: no need to cut travel to save the planet, says Transport Secretary * The Korean crisis is China's chance to show the world it has changed * Is Britain no longer special to America? * We must treat China as a friend and ally in this financial crisis * New Zealand hockey coach banished to stands for match officials' 'pants' decision Britain's attempt to respond by launching nuclear-armed Trident missiles at China has to be abandoned, as the computer systems that control the weapons system are no longer functioning. At a time when relations between China and Britain are supposed to be improving, the prospect of Beijing launching a cyber attack against Britain and its allies might seem to be the stuff of fantasy. After all, it is only two years since Gordon Brown made a highly successful visit to Beijing where the two countries agreed to increase trade by 50 per cent by this year, and to cooperate on a range of issues, such as global warming. As one of the world's leading economic powers, China's role on the world stage has transformed dramatically over the past decade, with the huge wealth that Beijing has accumulated from its impressive economic growth playing a key role in sup

"Look at what FoxNews says. The code that was used to hack Gmail accounts in China is now publicly available on the Internet, and security experts are urging computer users throughout the world to be highly vigilant until a patch can be developed. The hack involves Internet Explorer 6, the browser that came with the Windows XP operating system that, while outdated, still powers millions of businesses and home computers and is now dangerously compromised. Hacks based on this security flaw led Google to threaten to drop its www.google.cn Web site and leave China last week. The Internet behemoth believes these security intrusions are a quest not just for political knowledge but also for intellectual property. Experts warn that as many as 30 other companies have been hacked, ranging from software firms like Adobe and Juniper Networks to Northrop Grumman - a major U.S. defense contractor and manufacturer of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and the Global Hawk unmanned drone. Microsoft has yet to patch the hole in IE 6, a flaw so serious it's prompted the German government to suggest citizens avoid IE. Microsoft has posted a security advisory detailing the problem, and urging users to upgrade to newer browsers. The main strategy or process that these hackers are following is said to be known as Spearphishing. They target the user with an e-mail that would appeal to them, one that leads to a site that launches malicious code onto your system. And the IE 6 exploit makes it particularly easy to slip that code on your computer. India's security chief, M.K. Narayanan, is claiming that Chinese hackers have attempted to hack into India's most sensitive government office. Tensions between China and India have been resizing lately ever nice India's relationship with the U.S. has improved to the point that the U.S. is poised to be selling them billions of dollars worth of weapons. Although there is no way for the Indian office to now for sure, they are pretty sure

"SAN FRANCISCO - Google Inc. will stop censoring its search results in China and may pull out of the country completely after discovering that computer hackers had tricked human-rights activists into exposing their e-mail accounts to outsiders. The change of heart announced Tuesday heralds a major shift for the Internet's search leader, which has repeatedly said it will obey Chinese laws requiring some politically and socially sensitive issues to be blocked from search results available in other countries. The acquiescence had outraged free-speech advocates and even some shareholders, who argued Google's cooperation with China violated the company's "don't be evil" motto. The criticism had started to sway Google co-founder Sergey Brin, who openly expressed his misgivings about the company's presence in China. But the tipping point didn't come until Google recently uncovered hacking attacks launched from within China. The apparent goals: breaking into the computers of at least 20 major U.S. companies and gathering personal information about dozens of human rights activists trying to shine a light on China's alleged abuses. Google spokesman Matt Furman declined to say whether the company suspects the Chinese government may have had a hand in the attacks. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the Google allegations "raise very serious concerns and questions" and the U.S. is seeking an explanation from the Chinese government."

"BEIJING - In China's first official response to Google's threat to leave the country, the government Thursday said foreign Internet companies are welcome but must obey the law and gave no hint of a possible compromise over Web censorship. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu, without mentioning Google by name, said Beijing prohibits e-mail hacking, another issue cited by the company. She was responding to questions about Google at a regular ministry briefing. "China's Internet is open," Jiang said. "China welcomes international Internet enterprises to conduct business in China according to law." Google Inc. said Tuesday it would stop censoring search results in China and might shut down its China-based Google.cn site, citing attempts to break into accounts on its Gmail service used by human rights activists."

"China has said relations with the United States will be seriously undermined if President Barack Obama holds a meeting with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. A senior Chinese communist party official has said Beijing will take action if the meeting goes ahead. The White House has indicated that President Obama intends to meet the Dalai Lama, who is due in Washington later this month, but no date has been announced. China's ties with the US have become more strained in recent months over a variety of issues, including planned US arms sales to Taiwan and accusations by the internet company Google of systematic attempts originating in China to hack into its computer systems. China has for many years tried to isolate the Dalai Lama by asking foreign leaders not to meet him."

"By Kang Juan China made stern representations to the US Thursday after the Obama administration approved a sale of upgraded Patriot air-defense missile equipment to Taiwan. The decision was denounced by Chinese military scholars as a representation of US-style pragmatism and its long-term containment policy toward China. The US defense department announced the contract late on Wednesday, allowing Lockheed Martin Corp to sell an unspecified number of Patriots, said the American Institute in Taiwan, Washington's de facto embassy in the absence of formal ties, Reuters reported Thursday. Wendell Minnick, Asia bureau chief of Defense News, told Reuters that the sale rounds out a $6.5 billion arms package approved in late 2008, which included 330 Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-3) missiles worth up to $3.1 billion. "This is the last piece that Taiwan has been waiting on," Minnick said. Late last month, Raytheon, the world's largest missile maker, won contracts totaling $1.1 billion to produce the Patriot Air and Missile Defense System for Taiwan, including ground-system hardware and spare parts. According to a Wednesday press release by the US Department of Defense on its website, the contract with Lockheed, awarded December 30, included "basic missile tooling upgrades, command and launch control tooling, spares and ground support equipment." The completion date of the work is estimated to be October 31, 2012. In a regular press conference in Beijing Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu said China has urged the US to cancel any planned arms sales to Taiwan to avoid damaging its ties with Beijing. The PAC-3 missile is the world's "most advanced, capable and powerful theater air defense missile," which defeats tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and fixed and rotary winged aircraft, and significantly increases the Patriot system's firepower, Lockheed said on its website."

How Hwee Young / EPA A strong 6.6 magnitude earthquake hit a remote, mostly rural and mountainous area of southwestern China's Sichuan province on Saturday, killing scores of people and injuring thousands close to where a big quake killed almost 70,000 people in 2008. Launch slideshow By John Ruwitch, Reuters LUSHAN, China - Hundreds of survivors of a 6.6-magnitude earthquake that hit southwest China, killing nearly 200 people, pushed into traffic along a main road on Monday, waving protest signs, demanding help and shouting at police. "We are in the open air here. No place to sleep, nothing to eat. No one is paying any attention to us," said Peng Qiong, 45, a farmer in Chaoyang village on the outskirts of Lushan, near the epicenter. China has poured resources into Sichuan since Saturday's quake, including 1 billion yuan ($161.9 million) from central coffers for disaster relief and compensation. About 18,000 troops are in the area.

"In 2005, General Chi Haotian of China, its "Minister of National Defense" since 1993 to 2003, revealed in his speeches that in China's war on the U.S.A., from one-third to two-thirds of Americans would be poisoned or infected biologically by the Chinese, and their homes and property would be transferred over to Chinese settlers, since the Chinese (and not the Germans, as Chi stipulated in his speech) are the superior race and must have everything best in the world. Anyway, a slave state (China) has this advantage over a free country (the United States): it can reward (enrich!) 100 million or 200 million of its troops and its civilians with what those killed (poisoned and infected) Americans and their ancestors had been acquiring for the past two and a half centuries. In the United States , an American's betrayal of his country to China may well be seen to be his use of his freedom. This certainly applies to the U.S. Presidents, whose elections (which have little to do with the appointment of the prime minister in Britain) contradict the knowledge of mental ability, according to which the value of a thought may include its exclusivity: Einstein said that he was understood by seven people in the world. It was only owing to Einstein's letter to President Roosevelt in 1939 that the Americans got the nuclear bombs before Hitler's Germany completed its nuclear project. "

Quake kills at least 164, injures more than 6,700 in China China's worst earthquake in three years on Saturday killed at least 157 people and injured more than 5,700. NBC's Ian Williams reports. By Michael Martina, Reuters Rescuers poured into a remote corner of southwestern China on Sunday as the death toll from the country's worst earthquake in three years climbed to 164 with more than 6,700 injured, state media said. Follow @NBCNewsWorld The 6.6 magnitude quake struck in Lushan county, near the city of Ya'an in the southwestern province of Sichuan, at a depth of 7.5 miles, close to where a devastating 7.9 temblor hit in May 2008 killing some 70,000. Most of the deaths were concentrated in Lushan, a short drive up the valley from Ya'an, but rescuers' access was hampered by the narrowness of the road and landslides. "The Lushan county centre is getting back to normal, but the need is still considerable in terms of shelter and materials," said Kevin Xia of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. "Supplies have had difficulty getting into the region because of the traffic jams. Most of our supplies are still on the way," Xia said. Pictures on state television showed toppled buildings and people in bloodied bandages being treated in tents outside the Lushan hospital. Water and electricity in the area were cut off by the quake.

"Obama had his National Security meeting and press conference today. His statement contained 1,346 words. He used the word "I" 22 times and the word "my" 5 times. Guess what word's he didn't use. This is my favorite passage. Via whitehouse.gov: So we have to do better - and we will do better. And we have to do it quickly. American lives are on the line. So I made it clear today to my team: I want our initial reviews completed this week. I want specific recommendations for corrective actions to fix what went wrong. I want those reforms implemented immediately, so that this doesn't happen again and so we can prevent future attacks. And I know that every member of my team that I met with today understands the urgency of getting this right. And I appreciate that each of them took responsibility for the shortfalls within their own agencies. (emphasis added) For what it's worth, he used the word "terrorist" five times. While Obama was holding his press conference, China was telling us they are not really interested in our sanctioning Iran idea. Via Fox News: The U.S. and its allies want tougher U.N. sanctions, while Iran's major trading partners, China and Russia, oppose the move. The Obama administration and European allies set a deadline of the end of 2009 for Iran to accept a U.N. proposal that Iran exchange most of its enriched uranium, which the West fears could be used for automic weapons, for low-enriched nuclear fuel for energy purposes. Over the last couple of years, the Security Council has passed three resolutions against Iran for refusing to suspend nuclear enrichment and cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency, but instead of compliance, the Islamic Republic has increased nuclear activity."

"BEIJING: The smart card system has been introduced in a Chinese city for the first time on Monday. The event coincided with a court verdict meting out the first-ever conviction in the country for theft and misuse of personal information. Wuxi, one of the most modern small cities of China, has unveiled the first batch of smart cards that contain barcodes containing crucial information about card holders . The smart cards, which are being rolled out for the first time in China, will enable their users to perform a wide range of tasks. The barcodes on the cards contain finger prints and personal information like date of birth, blood group, social security number and bank card numbers. It will carry the name and photograph of the card holder. The local administration of Wuxi is making arrangements for the use of smart cards in bank ATMs, buildings equipped with electronic guard system and even for allowing parents to pick up their children from high-guarded kindergarten schools. It will later add more information to the smart cards and widen the scope of its use. In another development, a court in China's Guangzhou city sentenced a man to one and a half year in prison for violating the security of personal information that include unlisted phone number and call histories of important people. Prosecutors told the court that Lin Guiyu bought personal information of senior officials and used it to swindle several people. He used the information to impersonate as the vice mayor of Zhuhai in Guangdong province while asking for money in return for official favors. Lin led a gang that committed five such crimes and cheated people of $121,554 after impersonating different officials including the Communist Party secretaries of Foshan and En'ping , official sources said. "

"LONDON (Reuters) - China and India sharply raised defence spending in 2009 despite the economic crisis but most European NATO members face a squeeze on defence budgets as they rein in gaping deficits, a report said on Wednesday. The impact of the global financial crisis on defence and security spending varied across regions and countries, the International Institute for Strategic Studies thinktank said in its annual report "The Military Balance". U.S. defence spending almost doubled under former President George W. Bush but President Barack Obama had signalled that the need to tackle a big budget deficit would require "a dramatic reprioritisation within defence spending," it said. Obama asked Congress this week to approve a record $708 billion in defence spending for fiscal 2011 -- including a 3.4 percent increase in the Pentagon's base budget -- but said he would continue his drive to eliminate wasteful programmes. A sharp recession had led the Russian government effectively to abandon a comprehensive military re-equipment plan due to run from 2007-15 and to replace it with a new 10-year plan starting in 2011, the report said. "In contrast to developments in advanced economies, both India and China have maintained their recent trend of double-digit increases in defence spending," it said. India boosted defence spending by 21 percent in 2009 after the 2008 Mumbai attacks killed 166 people, it said."

"The world's largest Internet search company and the world's most powerful electronic surveillance organization are teaming up in the name of cybersecurity. Under an agreement that is still being finalized, the National Security Agency would help Google analyze a major corporate espionage attack that the firm said originated in China and targeted its computer networks, according to cybersecurity experts familiar with the matter. The objective is to better defend Google -- and its users -- from future attack. Google and the NSA declined to comment on the partnership. But sources with knowledge of the arrangement, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the alliance is being designed to allow the two organizations to share critical information without violating Google's policies or laws that protect the privacy of Americans' online communications. The sources said the deal does not mean the NSA will be viewing users' searches or e-mail accounts or that Google will be sharing proprietary data. The partnership strikes at the core of one of the most sensitive issues for the government and private industry in the evolving world of cybersecurity: how to balance privacy and national security interests. On Tuesday, Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair called the Google attacks, which the company acknowledged in January, a "wake-up call." Cyberspace cannot be protected, he said, without a "collaborative effort that incorporates both the U.S. private sector and our international partners." But achieving collaboration is not easy, in part because private companies do not trust the government to keep their secrets and in part because of concerns that collaboration can lead to continuous government monitoring of private communications. Privacy advocates, concerned about a repeat of the NSA's warrantless interception of Americans' phone calls and e-mails after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, say information-sharing must be limited and closely overseen.

"http://www.blogtalkradio.com/freedomi... GENERAL STUBBLEBINE AND RIMA LAIOW TONIGHT http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.... GOVERNMENT INFILTRATION http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireSt... FOOD SHORTAGE http://www.millennium-ark.net/NEWS/10... SECRET GRAIN SALE TO CHINA http://www.homelandstupidity.us/2010/... FOOD CRISIS TRIGGERS COLLAPSE OF U.S. BRITTAIN AND JAPAN http://www.blacklistednews.com/news-7... CHINA ATTACKS GOOGLE AND INSTANT MESSAGING IN AMERICA TO PERFORM INDUSTRIAL ESPIONAGE http://www.blacklistednews.com/news-7... CASS SUNSTEIN WANT YOUR ORGANS WITHOUT YOUR CONSENT "

Photographer: CNN Copyright 2013 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. PlayRegular Photo Size 3/3 Advertisement SHARETHIS Posted: 11:05 AM Last Updated: 35 minutes ago By: CNN Wire A week of critical diplomacy is set to begin in Washington, Beijing and Pyongyang. But the sides are so far apart, at least in public declarations, it is impossible to predict where any diplomatic efforts will lead. North Korea continues to hold fast to the position that its nuclear and ballistic missile programs are non-negotiable. Pyongyang's official news agency says the North wants U.N. Security Council sanctions lifted. The sanctions were put in place after North Korea launched a three-stage rocket last December that put a satellite in orbit. More sanctions were added when the North conducted its third underground nuclear test in February. The U.S. and South Korea insist that a verifiable path to dismantling those programs must be on the table for any negotiating process to begin. South Koreans are increasingly saying they may need a nuclear deterrent to counter Pyongyang's threats. China, of course, detests the possibility the U.S. would reintroduce strategic nuclear weapons there. (They were removed in 1991.) Everyone is heaping pressure on China to rein in the North Koreans. Looking at the North's rapidly growing nuclear threat, some South Koreans admit that after years of dismissing all the bombastic rhetoric from Pyongyang, real fears are emerging. "It really is a game changer," said Hahm Chaibong, president of the ASAN Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul. "We really don't know what to do with it because these are political weapons, these are psychological weapons."

"The State Department is planning to welcome thousands of immigrants from terror-watch list countries into the United States this year through a "diversity visa" lottery -- a giant legal loophole some lawmakers say is a "serious national security threat" that has gone unchecked for years. Ostensibly designed to increase ethnic diversity among immigrants, the program invites in thousands of poorly educated laborers with few job skills -- and that's only the beginning of its problems, according to lawmakers and government investigations. "There are a lot of holes in this program in terms of security and in terms of fraud," said Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., who has written legislation aimed at killing the lottery. Now, in the wake of the botched Christmas Day terror attack that emerged from Nigeria and Yemen, members of Congress are worried the system could be vulnerable to radicals looking to "play" the visa lottery as a means of reaching the U.S. Here's how it works: to avoid getting stuck with 3.5 million others on a visa waiting list, hundreds of thousands of people put their names into the separate diversity lottery, which rewards countries that typically see low levels of immigration to the U.S. Immediate family are allowed to join lottery winners. Countries like China, where lots of immigrants originate, are excluded. Then a computer in Kentucky picks names at random from the qualified applicants, who need only a high school degree or two years at a job that requires two years of experience. The program accounts for about 10 percent of all immigrant visas each year. Included in the lottery are all four countries the U.S considers state sponsors of terror -- Iran, Sudan, Cuba, and Syria -- and 13 of the 14 nations that are coming under special monitoring from the Transportation Security Administration as founts of terrorism. Pakistan is excluded because, like China, it sends over tens of thousands of immigrants each year and doesn't need to be in the lottery