by Robert Whitcomb | Jun 3, 2016 | Initiative
(June 6th, 2016) Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, on a trip to Canada, denounced Canadian journalist Amanda Connolly for asking an “irresponsible” question about China’s human-rights record.
Ms. Connolly said: “There are no shortages of concerns about China’s treatment of human rights advocates such as the Hong Kong booksellers …,not to mention the destabilizing effects of its territorial ambitions in the South China Sea.”
Mr. Wang angrily told the reporter: “I have to say that your question is full of prejudice against China and arrogance … I don’t know where that comes from. This is totally unacceptable,” he said through an interpreter.
He continued: “Other people don’t know better than the Chinese people about the human rights condition in China and it is the Chinese people who are in the best situation, in the best position to have a say about China’s human rights situation.”
See more
by Robert Whitcomb | Jun 3, 2016 | AI World Society Summit
(June 6th, 2016) James Clapper, the U.S. director of national intelligence, says that that hackers, possibly working for foreign governments, are spying on American presidential candidates.
As a result, government officials are working with the campaigns to tighten security. Presidential candidates often receive national security information, which could be compromised by hackers.
Such hacking has been done at least since the 2008 presidential campaign. Read this article.
by Robert Whitcomb | Jun 1, 2016 | Initiative
(June 6th, 2016) On the Vermont-Quebec line, along what had been for many years a virtually open border between close allies Canada and the United States, a virtual wall has been constructed since 9/11, fraying what had been very close and fluid daily relations between the townspeople on both sides of the border.
It’s another sad outcome of Islamic terrorism. Read this Washington Post story,
by Robert Whitcomb | Jun 1, 2016 | Initiative
(June 6th, 2016) As Russia becomes more aggressive and implies that it might attack NATO with tactical nuclear weapons, the leadership of the alliance is trying to encourage deadbeat members to step up and pay more attention to the threat from Vladimir Putin’s aggressive dictatorship.
NATO’s leadership is trying to get all member nations to spend at least 2 percent of their GDP on defense, which is the long-established but often ignored guideline.
There has been a gradual move toward higher NATO defense spending since Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine, attacked the eastern part of that nation, harassed NATO ships and planes in the Baltic, unleashed cyberattacks against NATO members and showed its growing war-making expertise in its highly effective bombing to help Syrian dictator Bashir Assad.
Still, a few NATO members continue to cut defense spending. And while the alliance is carrying more military training and planning exercises in eastern and central Europe, they are little compared to what the Russians are doing. Read this New York Times story.
by Robert Whitcomb | Jun 1, 2016 | AI World Society Summit
The U.S. Federal Reserve System has detected more than 50 cyberbreaches between 2011 and 2015, with several incidents called “espionage’’. Most observers speculate that Russia and/or China, which are engaged in continuing cyberattacks against the U.S., are doing these attacks.
The central bank’s staff suspected hackers or spies in many of the incidents. Of course, the Fed’s computer systems play a critical role in global banking and hold confidential information on monetary policy that drives financial markets.
The edited records do not say who hacked the bank’s systems or whether they got sensitive information or stole money.
“Hacking is a major threat to the stability of the financial system. This data shows why,” said James Lewis, a cybersecurity expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, told Reuters.
by Robert Whitcomb | Jun 1, 2016 | Initiative
(June 7th, 2016) Some of the families of the hundreds or perhaps thousands killed by the Chinese army during the government’s 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square and elsewhere in China have accused Beijing of subjecting them to 27 years of “white terror” to try to stop them from speaking out about the mass killings.
In an open letter, published on June 1 ahead of the 27th anniversary of the protests, the Tiananmen Mothers campaigning group said that security agents has spied on, detained and threatened them as part of attempts to cover up the killings.
But the families vowed that they would not be silenced by such “detestable perversity”. “We have nothing left to fear,” they wrote.
The Communist Party continues to outlaw discussion of those events, fearing that it would undermine its grip on power. No public investigation has even been held and the precise death toll remains a mystery.
See more
by Robert Whitcomb | Jun 1, 2016 | Initiative
(June 7th, 2016) The North Korean government, via state-controlled media, has praised putative Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump for his proposal to hold talks with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, calling him a “wise politician” and “far-sighted candidate” who could help unify the Korean peninsula by not being willing to defend South Korea.
“Trump said he will not get involved in the war between the South and the North, isn’t this fortunate from North Korea’s perspective?” the media said.
Mr. Trump’s remarks suggest that he would tear up U.S. foreign policy around the world.
See more
by Robert Whitcomb | May 28, 2016 | AI World Society Summit
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who just finished hosting the G7 summit, plans to propose a fiscal stimulus package of as much as $90.7 billion after warning G7 leaders that the global economy faces a significant risk of another crisis like that in 2008. Many observers, however, think that his fears are exaggerated.
The proposed stimulus will include accelerating the construction of a magnetic-levitation train line from Nagoya to Osaka, issuing vouchers to boost consumer spending, increasing pay for child-care workers and setting up a scholarship fund. Hit this link.
by Robert Whitcomb | May 28, 2016 | AI World Society Summit
(May 30th, 2016) Marc Chandler argues, in the wake of the G7 Summit, that a major problem facing the world economy lies in problems in the capital markets and the “currency mismatches that stem from dollar borrowings.’’ Read his overview of summit concerns.
