RT: Russia unveils new T90-MS battle tank in India

Russian arms producers have presented the most up-to-date exportable version of the T-90 main battle tank to potential buyers.

The presentation happened at the Defexpo India 2012 in New Delhi, where the producers of the T-90MS hope to find buyers for the new armored vehicle.

The upgraded tank has improved capabilities in firepower, protection, mobility and command ability,”

Andrey Terlikov, the chief designer of the T-90 at the Uralvagonzavod plant, said.

The T-90MS is the latest modification of the combat vehicle dubbed the “flying tank”. It has a new turret with the Kalina modernized targeting system, which is integrated with the squad commander’s control system. Also on board are an upgraded 2A46M-5 cannon and a new air defense machine gun.

The tank also has new version of the explosive reactive armor called Relict. It has an improved gear shifter and better steering control.

Its armor was modified to better withstand fire, though it is now slightly less resistant to the affects of a nuclear attack.

The tank is also equipped with an auxiliary diesel engine that is primarily used during stops.

It allows for better fuel efficiency and produces less heat than the main engine, making the vehicle less noticeable in the infra-red spectrum.

The T-90MS hit the domestic production in September 2011.

So far it has not been sold to a foreign country.

The producer hopes that India would be interested in upgrading the T-90 tanks it already owns to the MS versions.

It gas also invited governments in Latin America and other regions to check out  at its capabilities.

source: http://www.rt.com/news/russian-flying-tank-india-849/

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RT: Anonymous declares cyber war on Congress over indefinite detention act

Hacktivists are continuing their mission to take on politicians causing the collapse of constitutional rights in America, with operatives from the online collective Anonymous keeping up a campaign against the signers of controversial legislation.

As Russia Today (RT) reported on Thursday, members of Anonymous began a campaign this week to expose information on the lawmakers who voted in favor of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, a bill that will allow for the indefinite detention of American citizens, the reinstating of torture methods and the creation of the United States as a battlefield. 

Despite the implications of the act, the Senate allowed for the bill to leave Capitol Hill on Thursday, leaving only the inking of President Barack Obama’s name as the final step for ratification.

President Obama had earlier insisted on vetoing the bill, but the White House retracted that statement in the days before it cleared Congress. Before the final draft left the Senate yesterday, Sen. Carl Levin asked that a statement from the administration be added to the record in which the president’s press secretary, Jay Carney, said that the president will not be advised to strike down the bill.

On Thursday, Anonymous hacktivists launched a campaign against Senator Robert Portman, a Republican from Ohio. Not only did Portland vote in favor of NDAA FY2012, he received $272,853 from special interest groups that also backed the bill.

“Robert J. Portman, we plan to make an example of you,” an Anonymous operative posted to the Internet on Thursday. Along with the warning was personal information pertaining to the senator, including his home address and phone number.

On Friday, Anonymous says that this is just the beginning of the campaign against those that are creating the collapse of the US Constitution. With NDAA FY2012 almost guaranteed to be approved by Obama any moment, a second piece of legislation, the Stop Online Piracy Act, is close to clearing a Congressional committee. Should that bill be brought before the president and signed into law as well, Internet access and content across America and the world will become largely censored.

“We've been watching you systematically destroy the rights of your own people, one law at a time. No longer shall we stand by and watch you enslave our fellow citizens,” writes an Anonymous operative in an open letter to Congress posted Friday: 

You have continued down this path of treason by creating acts such as the National Defense Authorization Act, Stop Online Piracy Act, Protect IP Act, and more. You've tried to conceal the true purpose of these bills, and pass them without the consent of the American people.

As a result of the recent legislation which has managed to make its way through Congress, Anonymous operatives write on Friday:

 We are now here to undo your sordid life's work in its entirety. No longer will your transgressions go unnoticed. No longer will you enslave the people. The world will know of your violations against the rights of the citizens you were elected to represent.

In the memo from the hacktivists, they include a copy of the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the US Constitution that have been crushed in-part by the latest congressional meetings. “Every time you violate these amendments we will ensure the people are aware of your actions,” says Anonymous. “You may have previously succeeded in concealing your actions, but that time has come to an end. You were elected by us, and you can be removed by us.”

Anonymous members are using the trending topic #OpAccountable on Twitter to spread the campaign against the congressman involved in the legislation. On Friday, one hacktivist tweeted that the topic is even being used by known members of the Tea Party movement.

“Goes to show this year’s outrage is far stretching," adds the operative.

Note: IAW RT policy, this article is published verbatim. 

source: http://rt.com/usa/news/anonymous-congress-ndaa-sopa-013/

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WIN: Senate Appears Ready To Pass A Bill Allowing The U.S. Military To Act Against U.S. Citizens Inside The U.S.- 12/15/11

12/14/2011

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By Doug Cunningham

Wednesday was a national day of action protesting a new law that would allow the use of the U.S. military inside the U.S. against U.S. citizens. Occupy Washington D.C. sat in at U.S. Senator Carl Levin’s office to protest the proposed law. Occupy’s Kevin Zeese says this radical change in law will allow the use of the U.S. military against protesters and would allow the military to grab citizens off the streets and hold them indefinitely based on mere suspicion of being engaged in hostilities against the U.S. It’s a major shift since the U.S. has largely banned the use of the military inside the country under the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878.

By Doug Cunningham

Wednesday was a national day of action protesting a new law that would allow the use of the U.S. military inside the U.S. against U.S. citizens.

Occupy Washington D.C. sat in at U.S. Senator Carl Levin’s office to protest the proposed law.

Occupy’s Kevin Zeese says this radical change in law will allow the use of the U.S. military against protesters and would allow the military to grab citizens off the streets and hold them indefinitely based on mere suspicion of being engaged in hostilities against the U.S.

It’s a major shift since the U.S. has largely banned the use of the military inside the country under the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said the that the bill will say that the homeland will be part of the battlefield   "and people can be imprisoned without charge or trial “American citizen or not."

The U.S. Constitution specifically includes the habeas procedure in the Suspension Clause, located in Article One, Section 9. This states that "The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it."

Many civill bertairans say this law will abrogate the 6th Amendment:

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

The ACLU said:

The Senate voted last Thursday to pass S. 1867, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which would authorize the president to send the military literally anywhere in the world to imprison civilians without charge or trial. Prison based on suspicion alone.

The power is so sweeping that the president would be able to direct the military to use its powers within the United States itself, and even lock up American citizens without charge or trial.

No corner of the world, not even your own home, would be off-limits to the military.

The Patriot Act is quite draconinaian and needs to be repealed. Why is President Obama, who is a constitional attorney, allowing this act to go into law? He has already indicated a willingness to sign the act into law..

See http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/behind-closed-doors-congress-trying-force-indefinite-detention-bill-americans

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Ron Paul: GW Bush was happy about 911

Ron Paul stopped in Ames, Iowa on the campaign trail on Thursday, and used some harsh words to explain President George W Bush’s reaction to the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Specifically, the Texas congressman said that the former president was pretty happy about the events. After all, said Paul, the attacks served as pretext to finally put American troops overseas in what instantly became a justifiable reason for war.

“Think of what happened after 9/11,” Paul told a crowd of around 1,000 in Ames this week. “The minute before there was any assessment, there was glee in the administration because now we can invade Iraq, and so the war drums beat.”

What’s more, said the presidential hopeful, is that a decade later, the current administration is creating excitement themselves over what is erupting with enemy forces overseas.

“That’s exactly what they’re doing now with Iran,” said Paul.

Tensions between Washington and Tehran have been high for years, but talks of a budding nuclear program in Iran has America and its allies up in arms over what could be developing overseas. The loss of a high-tech American drone aircraft in Iran last week has only escalated a stand-off between nations, as Washington and Tehran bicker back in forth in the days since over what the craft was doing in the skies above Iran and whether or not Iran has actually recovered the craft.

Paul has been a critic of both the Bush and Obama administrations, but speaking from the campus of Iowa State this week, revealed that the excuses that each president has used to embroil American forces in overseas skirmishes are eerily similar. Paul added:

I think extremists have taken over. They’re the ones that run the foreign policy and that convinced us as a country to go along with all these wars.

From Ames on Thursday, the National Journal reports that Paul’s audience was unperturbed by the statement. A reporter with the paper relayed the statements to the rest of the world by way of Twitter, in which one critic in particular, however, shares sentiments about the libertarian-leaning GOP candidate. Former Bush administration official Ari Fleischer fired back at Paul’s statements, saying simply, “The man is nuts.”

Paul’s statements aren’t anything new for the libertarian icon, who has opposed the Bush administration’s reaction and response to 9/11 for some time. During a televised debate of Republican Party candidates earlier this year, Paul put the blame of the attacks on America itself. He said: 

They attacked us because we have been over there bombing them for 10 years . . .

If we think we can do that (occupy foreign lands) and not have retaliation, we are kidding ourselves.

source: http://rt.com/usa/news/ron-paul-bush-iran-449/
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RT: Iran shows off captured RQ170 drone

Days after the Pentagon first denied and then admitted that it lost touch with a high-tech drone aircraft, authorities in Iran are now saying that they have the plane — and its condition is pristine.

The unmanned, robotic aircraft — a RQ170 Sentinel drone plane — disappeared last week. American authorities quickly dismissed claims that they lost the plane over Iran, only to later admit that the CIA was flying a reconnaissance mission over Afghanistan when they lost touch with the top-secret stealth drone.

Soon after it was believed that communication was cut once the plane waded through the air in Iranian territory. American officials then claimed that satellite imagery showed that the drone had crashed and was beyond repair.

Officials out of Tehran, however, now say that they intercepted the craft and have it in perfect shape. For proof, Iran television has even broadcast footage of the craft.

Tehran is saying that they brought down the drone themselves with the Iranian Army’s electronic warfare unit after they caught the craft in Iran, around 140 miles from the country’s border with Afghanistan.

The Sentinel has been in the arsenal of the US military since 2009 and the Pentagon has gone to great lengths to keep its exact capabilities under wraps, though those speaking under condition of anonymity to the Los Angeles Times have revealed that among its powers is the ability to intercept cell phone transmissions and sniff out toxic chemicals from miles above the Earth’s surface, all while remaining undetected.

"It's bad — they'll have everything,” one official added to the Times.

"It carries a variety of systems,” author Peter W. Singer tells the Times, “to its allies . . . it's a potential gold mine.”

RT: Iran claims it shot down advanced US stealth drone

RQ-170 stealth drone

Iran's military says it has shot down an advanced stealth US reconnaissance drone aircraft in eastern Iran, state TV reports. 

According to reports, Iranian authorities managed to seize the unmanned aircraft upon being downed, which they claim received "minimum damage."

"Iran's military has shot down an intruding RQ-170 American drone in eastern Iran," an unnamed source has reportedly told Iran's Arabic-language television network. 

Note: This drone which flies from Afghanistan is called "The Beast of Kandahar."

The RQ-170 sentinel "is a low observable unmanned aircraft system which the United States Air Force uses to "directly support combatant commander needs for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance to locate targets."

According to the semi-official Fars news agency, Iran says it will continue to respond in kind to any drones that have violated the country's airspace, even from outside the country's borders.

However, US officials say there is 'absolutely no indication' the drone which crashed in Iran was actually shot down.

This isn't the first time Iran has claimed to act against a US drone operating from within its borders. In July, Iranian officials said a US drone was shot down while flying over the city of Qom, which authorities contend was gathering intel on a nearby nuclear facility.

Sunday’s reports of the downed drone come as the conflict between the US and Iran centering around the Islamic republic's alleged nuclear weapons program continue to intensify.

In November, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors passed a resolution urging Iran to provide access to its nuclear facilities to UN experts.

The resolution followed a November 8 IAEA report which claimed Iran had been actively developing weapons.

While Iran has continued to maintain that their nuclear ambitions are for peaceful purposes, the US and the European Union have chosen to tighten sanctions on key Iranian industries.

Diplomatic tensions between Iran and the West continued to intensify after dozens of Iranian students stormed the British embassy in Tehran Tuesday in response to the unilateral imposition of sanctions.

Britain immediately shut down its embassy in Tehran and subsequently closed the Iranian embassy in London on Wednesday, expelling all of its staff.

Other European countries also responded in kind, as Norway closed its embassy in Tehran, while Germany, Italy, Sweden, and the Netherlands all opted to recall their ambassadors.

As the threats of even tighter sanctions loom over the country, Iran’s foreign ministry had responded that any attempts by the West to block oil exports would be met with a doubling of crude oil prices on the global market.

"As soon as such an issue is raised seriously the oil price would soar to above $250 a barrel," foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast reportedly said.

Iran, which received some $56 billion in the first seven months of 2011 from crude oil exports, is the world's third-largest crude exporter and heavily dependent on revenues generated from the trade.

And while no final agreement on an oil embargo against Iran has been agreed upon within Europe, tougher sanctions could be be finalized next week, as various EU heads of state are set to meet for a summit this coming Thursday.

Author and journalist Afshin Rattansi told RT the US has once again broken international law by sending the drone to Iran.

RT: Chinese Yuan may replace dollar as world's reserve currency

Published: 18 November, 2011, 23:46

Tensions between Beijing and Washington intensified this week as international leaders met to discuss the handling of the South China Sea. As America attempts to involve itself in the region, China is asking Obama and company to butt out.

And while once a force to be reckoned with, American dominance may be threatened more than ever as economists predict that the US dollar will be usurped by the Chinese yuan in only ten years’ time.

In its latest report to Congress, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission predicts that the yuan, also called the renminbi or RMB for short, could compete against the American dollar as the world’s reserve currency in a matter of only a decade. As China has pushed their currency outside of its own borders in recent time, the panel predicted to Congress that I could be just a matter of time before the US dollar loses its power as China becomes the world’s economic superpower.

"Chinese financial authorities are laying the groundwork for these ambitions via a series of bilateral arrangements with foreign companies and financial centers," the Commission says in their report. "While dollar-denominated financial markets retain a substantial advantage over their RMB-denominated counterparts in terms of new issuances, the RMB markets have made remarkable progress in less than one year," the add.

In his new book, Eclipse: Living in the Shadow of China's Economic Dominance, economist Arvind Subramanian writes that that “Chinese economic dominance is more imminent and more broad-based – encompassing output, trade and currency – than is currently recognized.”

At one time the British pound sterling was the world's reserve currency but the dollar replaced it. Instability in US financial markets could make the Yuan attractive as an international currency.  


This would be a supreme irony if the currency of a communist nation was used as the world's reserve currency. 


The US would no longer be able to print money without creating inflation if this happened. 

See the complete article at http://rt.com/usa/news/dollar-china-yuan-sea-703/

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