"And I beheld, and heard the voice of one eagle flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice: Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth.... [Apocalypse (Revelation) 8:13]
Thursday, March 1, 2018
FATIMA WATCH: Putin Unveils New Russian Missile That Can Reach ‘Any Point In The World’
FATIMA WATCH: Putin Unveils New Russian Missile That Can Reach ‘Any Point In The World’
OUR LADY AT FATIMA WARNED RUSSIA WOULD BE USED BY HEAVEN TO CHASTISE THE WORLD
On the heels of news that the United States is posturing ships in the
Black Sea near Russia’s border, Vladimir Putin revealed a slew of new
defense systems Thursday, including a new prototype missile that “can
reach any point in the world.” He also has a supersonic weapon that
cannot be tracked by anti-missile systems.
According to CNBC,
Putin joked that the two new strategic nuclear weapons he described
(the global cruise missile and the subsurface unmanned vehicle) did not
have names yet and lawmakers could submit their suggestions via the
Defense Ministry website. Also alarming, was his speech on when the
Russians would use nuclear weapons. When delivering his annual State of
the Union address, Putin also said that, if attacked, Russia was ready to use nuclear weapons in defense.
“We see increased opportunities with the armed forces,” he said.
“We’ve done a lot to strengthen our army and navy and they are equipped
with modern weaponry.” He then showed the audience a video of how one of
the prototype missiles would work, explaining that the new system would
have no limitations on its range. “It can attack any target,
through the North or South Pole, it is a powerful weapon and no missile
defense system will be able to withstand,” the president said.
Putin also said Russia had another weapon that was a “small nuclear
power energy system” (a nuclear warhead) that can be deployed on a
cruise missile system that can also, he claimed, “avoid all
interceptors.” He said the country had tested this cruise missile with
the “nuclear power energy unit” in 2017 and it was successful. Russia
would also start manufacturing this weapon right now, he added. “This
is unheard of and nobody else has such a system in the world. They
might create something like this in the future but by then our guys will
have created something new as well.”
Putin also declared to his audience “but even this is not the end,”
unveiling a system capable of destroying intercontinental targets with
“hypersonic” speed. “I’m pleased to inform you that after certain
experiments, we are sure that soon Russia’s strategic missile forces will have a new system
capable of destroying intercontinental targets with hypersonic speed
and high-precision, able to maneuver both in terms of its course and
altitude. There are no systems like that in the world.” He said Russia
had been open about the development of such a system but that “nobody
listened to us, but listen to us now.” Lawmakers then gave Putin a
standing ovation.
Nuclear war between Russia and US will bring end to civilization’
By training its European allies to use their nuclear arms, the
US is moving towards an atomic war with Russia, forgetting that it would
mean the end of the human civilization, retired Lieutenant General
Evgeny Buzhinsky told RT.
The
US military is preparing the armed forces of the European countries for
the use of tactical nukes against Russia, Sergey Lavrov, the Russian
Foreign Minister, said on Wednesday. He added that the presence of
American non-strategic nuclear weapons in Europe is a major stumbling
block in the path of disarmament. “No one can say how serious the threat really is” from the US actions, Buzhinsky, the Chairman of the Executive Board of the PIR-Center, said. However, he pointed out that “the
military people are getting ready. The Russian military is preparing
and the American military does the same. And it’s for the politicians to
warn the public that such preparations are being made.”
The Americans keep toying with nuclear arms in Europe as if they are forgetting that “there’ll be no one left on Earth”
if such weapons are employed, the retired Lieutenant General said. The
events will develop rapidly and have disastrous consequences for
everybody if one of the sides carries out a nuclear attack against
another, he warmed.
If Russia “will be hit with nuclear weapons, we’ll deliver a counterstrike,”
the expert for the PIR-Center, which researches international security
and nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction, said. “Russian
and American strategic forces kicking into action would mean hundreds of
megatons of nuclear munitions striking the territory of the US and
Russia.” “We are located on the Eurasian Plate, which
gives us (Russia) a slight tectonic advantage. As for the North American
continent, it will surely crack” as a result of a Russian nuclear
counterstrike. “It’ll be the end of civilization. There can be no doubt
about that,” he added.
Buzhinsky assured that Russia wouldn’t be caught by surprise if the US uses its nuclear arsenal against it. “The Armed Forces are ready for everything. President Putin spoke about it on numerous occasions and everybody is aware of it,” he said. READ MORE: Anti-Russian & ‘nothing to do with reality’: Moscow lambastes US Nuclear Posture Review
An
estimated 200 of the US B61 nuclear bombs are hosted by Germany,
Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey and other European countries as
part of NATO’s nuclear-sharing program. Moscow views the presence of
American nuclear arms and anti-missile defense on the European continent
as a threat to its national security.
US Approves Sale of 210 Javelin Anti-Tank Missiles to Ukraine
Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov has accused the United States of hurdling international
nuclear disarmament efforts by training European armies to use tactical
nuclear weapons against Russia.
Addressing the United Nations Conference on Disarmament on Wednesday,
Lavrov said the US military had deployed strategic and non-strategic
weapons across Europe and was using them in joint military exercises
with other European countries, including the NATO military alliance’s
non-nuclear members.
"As we all know, these nuclear missions violate the Non-Proliferation
Treaty (NPT), and non-nuclear states plan and take part in the US
exercises and learn how to use the nuclear weapons," he said.
"It should be clear to one and all that the US military thereby
prepares the European countries for using tactical nuclear weapons
against Russia," Lavrov added.
Besides prohibiting proliferation of nuclear arms, the NPT bans
states from transferring nuclear weapons and other nuclear explosive
devices, or their control, to other countries.
Lavrov said the US nuclear pileup in European countries was "not just
a Cold War rudiment, but an outspokenly aggressive stance."
Recollecting America's record as the only country to ever use nuclear
weapons, Lavrov called on European people to stop the trend.
"I hope that the European citizens will manage to say a firm ‘NO’ to
the deployment in their territory of weapons of mass destruction that
belong to a country that had already used them once against the
population of Hiroshima and Nagasaki," Lavrov said. US-Russia denuclearization efforts
The top Russian diplomat said Moscow remained committed to a joint
denuclearization agreement that requires both sides to downsize their
arsenals.
According to Lavrov, Russia has cut its arsenal down by more than 85
percent under the Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and
Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms compared to what it was at the
height of the Cold War.
The treaty, which was signed in 2010 and entered into force a year
later, stipulates reducing nuclear warheads to 1,550 while slashing
strategic carriers such as submarines and aircraft to 700 units.
Lavrov then pointed to America's revised nuclear weapons policy under
President Donald Trump and said it had raised concerns in Moscow and
overshadowed the "impressive achievements" of both sides in implementing
the joint treaty.
The Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), which was released earlier this
month, came largely to counter Russia and China, effectively ending
efforts by former President Barack Obama to reduce the size and scope of
the US arsenal and minimize the role of nuclear weapons in the
country's military doctrine.
Additionally, the report called for the development of new nuclear
sea-launched cruise missiles (SLCMs) and the deployment of the Trident
D-5 submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) that will be modified
to have lower yield nuclear warheads.
Lavrov said that the NPR "enhances the role of nuclear weapons in
different ways, including the creation and deployment of low-yield
warheads, thus lowering the threshold of using nuclear weapons."
Nobody listened to us. Listen now': Putin warns the U.S. with nuclear weapons display
He made his point with videos including
intercontinental missiles and a hypersonic system that he said 'heads
for its target like a meteorite'
Russian President Vladimir Putin stands
after giving his annual state of the nation address in Manezh in Moscow,
Russia, Thursday, March 1, 2018. Putin set a slew of ambitious economic
goals, vowing to boost living standards, improve health care and
education and build modern infrastructure in a state-of-the-nation
address.Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP(Bloomberg) — Vladimir Putin used his state-of-the-nation speech to
deliver a stern warning to the U.S. that Russia has a series of new
high-technology nuclear weapons that he said can overcome any defenses.
“Efforts
to contain Russia have failed, face it,” Putin said in a nearly
two-hour address he illustrated with video clips of the new arms, which
included underwater drones, intercontinental missiles and a hypersonic
system he said “heads for its target like a meteorite.”
The
unusual display of military might was the most dramatic element of the
speech, which started with pledges to deliver a “decisive breakthrough”
to boost living standards and raise spending on health and
infrastructure. Putin used the annual address to lay out priorities for
the fourth presidential term he’s expected to win easily in the March 18
election. But the toughest language was aimed at the U.S.
He said
Russia had long warned Washington not to go ahead with anti-missile
systems that Moscow feared could erode its nuclear deterrent. “Nobody
listened to us. Listen now,” he said, to a loud ovation from the crowd
of legislators, officials and dignitaries.
Russia's
growing military might is a reliable guarantee of peace on our planet
because it ensures the strategic balance in the world
“We’re not threatening anyone,” Putin said of the
new weapons. “Russia’s growing military might is a reliable guarantee of
peace on our planet because it ensures the strategic balance in the
world.”
He
singled out a new U.S. nuclear-strategy document as threatening to
lower the threshold for using the weapons. He warned that any use of
nuclear arms against Russia or its allies would meet a “immediate
response.”
While past addresses had been staid affairs held in the
Kremlin’s ornate Georgievsky Hall, this year’s was moved to the Manezh
exhibition venue nearby to allow Putin to show the videos and animated
charts on a giant screen behind him. The new weapons were shown in
computerized animations evading defences as they headed toward targets,
sometimes appearing to be in North America.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (background) stands on the stage while
addressing the Federal Assembly at Moscow’s Manezh exhibition centre on
March 01, 2018.MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV/AFP/Getty ImagesThe address is his first major policy statement since he
formally kicked off his campaign for the presidential elections. Putin,
65, is all but certain to win re-election for a fourth and likely final
term to extend his rule to 2024. With factions jostling for advantage
over the succession, his biggest challenge will be to build a team and a
system capable of sustaining Putinism after he leaves office.
While
his approval ratings have remained consistently above 80 percent since
the 2014 annexation of Crimea, public discontent is rising amid weak
economic growth that’s followed the longest recession this century. Many
of his promises from his last campaign have remained unfulfilled amid
the weak economic performance. Deepening tensions with the West threaten
to further isolate the Kremlin.
In this Tuesday, May 9, 2017 file photo, a Russian Topol M intercontinental ballistic missile launcher rolls along Red Square during the Victory Day military parade to celebrate 72 years since the
end of the Second World War and the defeat of Nazi Germany, in Moscow,
Russia.Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP PhotoPutin addressed domestic issues head on in the speech
Thursday, pledging to cut the 20-million-strong ranks of Russia’s poor
by half by the middle of the next decade and boost incomes across the
country. He called for raising spending on roads, healthcare, pensions,
and efforts to reverse the decline in Russia’s population. He also
called for making “hard decisions” on long-overdue reforms, but didn’t
spell them out.
China Prepares For New Cold War With Massive Military Buildup
As
we have been documenting for quite some time, China has been
not-so-quietly transforming itself into a serious threat to the West
- beefing up its military to contend with the Washington's air, sea,
space and cyber weapons capabilities, while scrapping
constitutional term limits for President Xi Jinping.
Since 2000, China has built more submarines, destroyers, frigates and
corvettes than Japan, South Korea and India combined. To put this
further into perspective, the total tonnage of new warships and
auxiliaries launched by China in the last four years alone is
significantly greater than the total tonnage of the French navy. -IISS
Analysts on both sides of the Pacific believe Xi's aggressive
military buildup and power grab have put Beijing on a direct course for
conflict with Washington - with the heavy U.S. presence in the region setting the stage for a new Cold War.
“In the Asia-Pacific, the dominant role of the United States in a political and military sense will have to be readjusted,”
said Cui Liru, former president of the China Institutes of Contemporary
International Relations, a think tank under the Ministry of State
Security that often reflects official thinking. “It doesn’t mean U.S. interests must be sacrificed. But if the U.S. insists on a dominant role forever, that’s a problem.” Cui added that it was "not normal for China to be under U.S. dominance forever. You can’t justify dominance forever."
“China’s military objective is to break through the first chain of islands,” said Mr. Cui, referring to the waters beyond Japan and Taiwan where the Chinese military wants to establish a presence. -NYT
China's navy is also deploying further from home, including Europe,
while their base in the Eastern African country of Djibouti will enable
more naval deployments. In terms of military computing technology, China
has also set out on an ambitious course, as vast resources have been
sunk into "extremely high-performance computing and quantum communications,"
which, along with their weapons advancements and overall defense
capabilities mean the country is no longer merely "catching up" with
Western progress.
Meanwhile, Xi and other Chinese officials are of the firm belief that the United States is a superpower in decline - which will require China to step into the vacuum left behind.
“It is now clear Xi’s agenda to rebuild an Asian order with China at its center is here to stay,”
said Hugh White, a scholar and former defense official in Australia who
has argued that the United States must be prepared to share power with
China in the Asia-Pacific region.
“I think Xi is impatient,” Mr. White added. “He
wants China to be the predominant power in the Western Pacific. He
wants to do it himself and for it to go down in history as his
achievement. That makes him formidable.” -NYT
In a keynote speech to China's Communist Party Congress last October,
Xi promised to make China's armed forces world-class by the middle of
the century. In a January speech, Xi told thousands of Chinese soldiers
to “neither fear hardship nor death,” during an
inspection visit Wednesday to the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA)
Central Theater Command in northern Hebei province, according to the
official Xinhua news agency. Xi advised the military to continue improving upon its
equipment, tactics, technology, and combat readiness by engaging in
“real combat training.” The Chinese president - for life, spoke of the need to “create an elite and powerful force that is always ready for the fight, capable of combat and sure to win in order to fulfill the tasks bestowed by the Party and the people in the new era.”
He [Xi] has accelerated the military’s plans to build a blue-water
navy, increased spending on weaponry in outer space, and established
China’s first military bases abroad. He has promoted a global
infrastructure program to extend Beijing’s influence and ignored Western
concerns about human rights, which have diminished under the Trump
administration. -NYT
Indeed, with the rollout of stealth jets, new high-tech naval artillery such as a "secret railgun,"
and Chinese media reports bragging about aggressive maneuvers that
"dare to shine the sword," our trading partner to the West has made it
perfectly clear that they intend on being a dominant global force, both economically and militarily.
(not so) secret railgun
Last November, we reported on a secretive hypersonic weapons program, which if successful would be able to hit the United States in under 14 minutes.
“China and the US have started a hypersonic race,”
said Wu Dafang, professor at the school of aeronautic science and
engineering at Beihang University in Beijing who received a national
technology award for the invention of a new heat shield used on
hypersonic vehicles in 2013.
And just two weeks ago the International Institute for Strategic
Studies reported that China's rapid military modernization is
"remarkable," and is set to challenge the West on several fronts.
“China’s emerging weapons developments and broader
defence-technological progress mean that it has become a global defence
innovator” says Dr. John Chipman, Director-General and Chief
Executive of the London-based think tank. Of note, Chipman points out
that China's Chengdu J-20 low-observable combat aircraft is set to
challenge America's "monopoly on operational stealthy combat aircraft."
The IISS report also notes that China's expanding array of
advanced guided-weapons projects, such as the PL-15 extended range
air-to-air missile which could enter service this year. "This
weapon appears to be equipped with an active electronically scanned
array radar, indicating that China has joined the few nations able to
integrate this capability on an air-to-air missile," reports Chipman. Trump and China
Trump has clearly changed his tune Chinese trade - declining to label
them a currency manipulator last year because the "timing was bad," and
refusing to impose sanctions - however the U.S. President has committed
to beefing up defenses with a new nuclear policy
calling for the revitalization of the nation's nuclear arsenal, while
also reaching out to forge a stronger "Indo-Pacific" coalition with
Australia, India and Japan in order to counter China's rapid rise.
“Trump is obsessed with strategic forces,” said Shi
Yinhong, a professor of international relations at Renmin University.
“He is determined to maintain American military predominance in face of
China’s strategic buildup. That will make the relationship more
profoundly confrontational.”
Chinese analysts downplayed Trump's efforts, however, noting that the
United States has been unwilling to fund the projects. “In the short
term,” said Shi, “China does not care about it because the ability to
form a real coalition is limited.”
Meanwhile, many feel that President Trump will be pressured into
taking a harder line with China going into the midterm elections - as
Democrats have signaled that they will compare his campaign promises
with his softline approach to a country he spent much of the 2016
election railing against.
“Now that it’s clear that President Xi isn’t going anywhere, getting
tough on China is even more of an imperative,” said Senator Chuck
Schumer (D-NY). “If President Trump and Congress don’t crack
down on their rapacious trade practices,” he added, “China will continue
eating our lunch for years to come.”
And while Wall Street continues to broker lucrative
investment-banking deals with the Chinese government, US manufacturers
are growing increasingly frustrated at the prospect of competing with
Chinese businesses who steal corporate secrets and regularly undercut
their competition.
Manufacturers tend to be more fed up than Wall Street, which continues to do lucrative investment-banking business with the Chinese government. Technology
companies have soured on China, though the market is so vast that they
are still willing to consider concessions they would make nowhere else
in the world.
The Trump administration reflects those fissures. Advisers like Gary
D. Cohn, director of the National Economic Council, and Treasury
Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who both worked at Goldman Sachs, have
persuaded Mr. Trump to hold off on tough trade measures against China in
the past. -WSJ
Infiltrating Universities
On the national security front, the Trump administration has been
using "Cold War-like terms," referring to China as a revisionist power
that will try "to erode American security and prosperity."
This extends to U.S. colleges, which according to FBI Director Christopher Wray,
are underestimating the ability for Chinese students to gather
sensitive national security intelligence. Public universities have long
been instrumental in the development of both offensive and defensive
capabilities for a multitude of US agencies such as the Department of
Defense and DARPA.
"The reality is that the Chinese have turned more and more to more
creative avenues using non-traditional collectors (of
information)," Wray said during the Senate Intelligence Committee's
annual open hearings on the greatest threats to the country.
"The use of non-traditional collectors, especially in the
academic setting—whether it's professors, scientists, students—we see in
almost every field office that the FBI has around the country, Wray said, adding "They're
exploiting the very open research-and-development environment that we
have, which we all revere, but they're taking advantage of it.'
Specifically, the FBI is “watching” programs at dozens of
Confucius Institutes, funded by China’s Ministry of Education that are
widely embedded within American universities and public schools to teach
the Mandarin language.
The Confucius Institute program, which started operations in 2004,
has been the subject of vast criticisms, concerns, and controversies
during its international expansion. Many such concerns stem from the
program’s close relationship to the Communist Party of China.
According to the South China Morning Post, some 350,000 Chinese
students are actively enrolled at American universities, which is about
thirty-five percent of the one million foreigners, said the Institute of
International Education. Bottom line: China's rapid military
buildup and commitment to becoming a dominant global force will require
that the United States either cede power in Asia, or face another Cold
War of steadily increasing temperatures. Keep in mind - times are good.
The next recession, whenever that might occur, will most certainly push
already-strained economic and military relations between the Washington
and Beijing into uncharted territory.
TradCatKnight Radio, "100th year Anniversary of Fatima"
“We’re not threatening anyone,” Putin said of the
new weapons. “Russia’s growing military might is a reliable guarantee of
peace on our planet because it ensures the strategic balance in the
world.”
