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November 28, 2014 Reminder #43: Obama Really Doesn’t Believe that America has a Right to Exist By Daniel Greenfield Obama went down to Chicago and continued his usual sneering promotion of amnesty. There was a time when Obama tried to play noble. He’s given that up for smug and condescending until he sounds exactly like his hipster advisers.“I was just traveling in Asia — you go to Japan, they don’t have problems with certain folks being discriminated against because mostly everybody is Japanese,” Obama said. Obama doesn’t seem to know that… 1. There’s plenty of discrimination in Japan, including internal...

Dozens of flights have been cancelled across southern Japan after a volcano erupted for the first time in 22 years. Mount Aso, located about 625 miles southwest of Tokyo, on Kyushu island, has been blasting out chunks of magma since Friday morning, causing flight cancellations from Kumamoto, the nearest city, and prompting warnings to stay away from its crater. The volcano has been spewing out lava debris and smoke, shooting plumes of ash a kilometer (3,280 feet) into the sky, The Japan Meteorological Agency said.

A strong earthquake has hit central Japan, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage, and no tsunami warning was issued. The Japan Meteorological Agency says the magnitude-6.8 earthquake hit parts of Nagano city and surrounding areas the hardest. The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake's magnitude was 6.2

China’s central bank unexpectedly slashed interest rates on Friday to re-energize the world’s No. 2 economy, joining a growing list of major economies that are trying to encourage growth in the face of a global slowdown. On top of the rate cut, Chinese authorities promised to inject credit into the financial system if needed. Meanwhile, the president of the European Central Bank said Friday he was ready to step up stimulus for the 18-country eurozone economy, whose performance continues to disappoint. And Japan’s government this week delayed a tax increase after the country slipped back into recession. News of China’s...

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Japan has a demographic problem, which has become an economic problem. The population is gradually getting older, people are having fewer children, and the ratio between prime age workers and retirees is shrinking. That means less consumption, more fixed incomes, and a greater need for government benefits. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has a steep uphill battle ahead of him when it comes to trying to grow GDP. Jim Laird at Laird Research has a great post on his site showing what Japan's demographic changes look like visually (in addition to a few other countries). Notice that we're nowhere near the...

Two Russian strategic bombers circled the U.S. island of Guam last week in what U.S. defense officials say is the latest in a series of nuclear provocations by Moscow. The bombers were identified by air defenses as Tu-95 Bear H nuclear-capable aircraft that circumnavigated the strategic U.S. military outpost on Friday—amid heightened tensions with Moscow regarding a new buildup of Russian forces in and along the border of eastern Ukraine. “U.S. Pacific Command can confirm that two aircraft circumnavigated Guam on November 13th,” said spokesman Maj. Christian Devine. “The aircraft were flying safely in international airspace and in accordance with...

Japan's economy is in trouble. The latest GDP figures unexpectedly show it to be in recession. In the long term, this is largely a story about demographics, and Japan is fighting an uphill battle. One-fourth of Japan's population is older than 65, and that number isn't going down anytime soon. That means a shrinking percentage of the population is working. Meanwhile, a growing percentage of the population is receiving benefits, living on a fixed income, and being supported by that shrinking population of workers. No amount of loose monetary or fiscal policy will bring more working-age people into the economy...

LONDON – The global economy's problems seem to be multiplying. Hours after the leaders of the world's 20 most developed economies sought to boost confidence by promising to increase global output by $2 trillion over five years, Japan said it had fallen into recession. That leaves the country – the world's third-largest economy – on a long and growing list of troubled economies. China is slowing as well, and Europe can't seem to take off. Among major economies, only the United States and Britain are growing at decent rates, and how long that lasts depends on how much trouble their...

Japan's economy unexpectedly slipped into recession in the third quarter, setting the stage for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to delay an unpopular sales tax hike and call a snap election two years before he has to go to the polls. The recession comes nearly two years after Abe returned to power promising to revive the economy with his "Abenomics" mix of massive monetary stimulus, spending and reforms, and is unwelcome news for an already shaky global economy. Gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by an annualised 1.6 percent in July-September, after plunging 7.3 percent in the second quarter following a rise...

Japan's economy is in technical recession after gross domestic product (GDP) shrank in the third quarter, defying expectations for growth and paving the way for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to delay a second sales tax hike. The world's third-largest economy contracted an annualized 1.6 percent in the July-September quarter, data showed on Monday, compared with a Reuters forecast for a 2.1 percent gain.

Japan reported Monday that its economy contracted at a real annual rate of 1.6 percent in July-September, in a second straight quarterly decline that returned the country to recession. A 24.1 percent plunge in private residential investment from a year earlier failed to offset a modest recovery in exports and a 1.5 percent increase in household spending. Most economists had forecast that the world’s third-biggest economy would expand at about a 2 percent pace. The negative growth figure was much lower than expected and makes it very likely Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will delay implementation of a sales tax hike...

We don’t know much about the FC-31, China’s other stealth fighter prototype. But a non-flying model of the FC-31 that appeared at the Zhuhai air show in southern China in early November offers some compelling new clues. That’s because the model is different than the flying FC-31 prototype—which also attended the Zhuhai show and put on a spirited aerobatic display on Nov. 12. Comparing the model and the plane could reveal Shenyang Aircraft Corporation’s ambitions for its new stealth jet. The model boasts better stealth features, new engines and a wider range of sensors. If Shenyang adds all these enhancements...

Pacific Fleet intelligence officer removed following investigation By Erik Slavin Stars and Stripes Published: November 12, 2014 What happens when a Navy officer gets real on China? YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan – A senior Pacific Fleet official known for his blunt assessment of China has been reassigned following an investigation into mishandling of classified information. Capt. James Fanell, formerly the Hawaii-based command’s top intelligence officer, is now working as an aide at fleet headquarters, Navy spokesman Capt. Darryn James said Thursday. James declined to provide specifics on Fanell’s removal, citing privacy concerns. However, a defense official who requested anonymity because...

Cuba is challenging a resolution in the U.N. General Assembly on human rights in North Korea, seeking to cut key language about a referral to the International Criminal Court that has Pyongyang nervous. The draft amendment obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press warns that such language sets “a dangerous precedent that could be applied in the future against any developing country.” North Korea has been shaken this year by a groundbreaking U.N. commission of inquiry report that detailed widespread human rights abuses in the impoverished but nuclear-armed country and warned that leader Kim Jong Un could be held accountable. The...

BEIJING — Amid the whine of high-performance jet engines at the start of an air show in Zhuhai, the Chinese government is hoping to generate a different sort of buzz: admiration, and perhaps purchases, of its shadowy J-31 stealth fighter, which is expected to make its first public appearance. For almost 20 years, the event, Airshow China, has been a showcase for the country’s homegrown hardware, and a marketplace for those interested in selling to the world’s most populous country. As the country tries to climb into the high-end arms market, it has been eager to display fighters, missiles and...

China has showcased a dummy model of new CX-1 anti-ship missile at Zhuhai Air Show. Missile looks similar to Russian P-800 Oniks , its the same missile upon which Indo-Russian Brahmos cruise missile has been based . Chinese forums puts specification of the missile has Supersonic Cruise missile with range of 50 km to 290 km . Missile will be supersonic speed on all phases of flight, and will be able to use wide range of platforms (ships, submarines and land-based launchers), will have low profile flight (sea-skimming), possible use of the missile in electronic countermeasures environment and under enemy...

A Chinese intelligence unit carried out a massive cyber espionage program that stole vast quantities of data from governments, businesses and other organizations, security analysts who uncovered the operation said Thursday. The activities of the Chinese unit called the Axiom group began at least six years ago and were uncovered by a coalition of security firms this month. Cyber sleuths traced Axiom attacks to the 2009 cyber operation against Google in China and other U.S. companies known as Operation Aurora. The group was also linked to a Chinese hacking program that targeted dissidents and opposition groups known as GhostNet. More...

Abenomics at make-or-break phase in Japan Published: 4:03 AM, November 7, 2014 TOKYO — Japan’s audacious campaign to reinvigorate its economy is entering a make-or-break phase. After nearly two years of aggressive stimulus under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, joblessness has plunged, big companies such as Toyota are earning record profits and corrosive price declines have been replaced by something Japan has rarely seen in decades — inflation. Yet the benefits of Abenomics, as the programme is known, have been unevenly distributed. Many consumers and businesses simply do not feel better off. The problem threatens to undermine support for the effort...

Oil prices tumbled to their lowest point in more than two years after Saudi Arabia unexpectedly cut prices for crude sold to the U.S., likely paving the way for further declines and adding to pressure on American energy producers. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia raised the prices for its oil in other locations, including Asia, where the country had cut its prices for four consecutive months.