International news and Relations

Will the lawmakers compromise buy-American policy of the U.S. Military?

raymason — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 07:44:41 +0000

The U.S military is facing a serious threat from insurgencies in Afghanistan. The threat of roadside bombs has demanded for better clothing to the troops. They are finally getting it, amid controversies about it back at home.

The contract for the uniform has sparked a row in the Congress regarding the fiber used in the clothing. The current uniforms are made at Tencate company (Georgia) using a fabric called Defender M. However the new fabrics are made with a type of rayon imported from Austria. This means that the new fabric violates the buy-American policy.

The rayon needed for the construction of the new fabric cannot be produced in the United States because of the environmental factors, so the Congress passed an amendment allowing the rayon to be imported from Austria on a temporary basis. According to the amendment the deadline for the import of rayon ends 2013.

This controversy has created the uncertainty over the defense contract which is worth hundreds of millions of dollar. American competitors have submitted other alternative but the test have favored the one produced at TenCate’s. It is favored for its fire-resistant and breathable properties.

“There is no American competitor that can meet or exceed it,” Sen. Johnny Isakson said on the Senate floor. “Obviously if there were, then that waiver would go away.” Isakson is confident his argument will prevail.

“Facts are stubborn things. I think when the facts get out they’ll understand it’s the right thing to do. Our armed forces want it and it’s the best thing for our soldiers,” he said.

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/US/08/06/military.uniform.contract/index.html

Twitter and Facebook becomes victim of Denial of Service Attack

raymason — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 07:34:07 +0000

On Thursday, hackers disrupted the services of Twitter and Facebook raising speculations about the coordinated attack on social network sites. The members of both the social network faced delays in logging in and posting comments.

Twitter, allows its users to send 140 character text messages to multiple other users over the Internet. The recent elections in Iran had sparked of many protests and Twitter was a key form of communication during these attacks.

According to a report in CNET, Facebook executive said that “Thursday’s cyber attacks were aimed at a Georgian blogger”. In a comment about the attack, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone said that “Twitter has been working closely with other companies and services affected by what appears to be a single, massively coordinated attack,”

Google extended its support to the sites that were attacked. Google said in an emailed statement that it was in contact with some non-Google sites that were impacted by Thursday’s attacks to help investigate. “Google systems prevented substantive impact to our services,” the statement said.

Twitter’s newfound fame makes it an easy target for hackers, said Steve Gibson, the president of Internet security research firm Gibson Research Corp.

This attack is said to be similar to the attack on White House website that left millions carry out their daily routines.

http://www.reuters.com/article/smallBusinessNews/idUSTRE57548520090807

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20090807/hacker-attacks-silence-twitter-slow-facebook.htm

Private sector job cuts in the US

raymason — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 13:11:28 +0000

A survey by payroll firm ADP shows that the number of private job losses in US is 371,000 in the month of July. Though this figure has reduced from the figure in June which was 463,000; this does not instill any confidence in the US economy. The recession which started with the sub-prime crisis has taken its toll and ensured that it has wiped off millions of jobs.

Planned layoffs have once again accelerated in July adding to the vows of the working population. The auto industry has had the highest number of layoffs this quarter followed by the public sector. However the layoffs have shown a declining trend and the worst may just be behind us. Another factor that has led to these layoffs is the outsourcing that has plagued almost all industries. Most companies outsource in order to cut costs.

According to the US and developed countries, developing countries are seeking unfair benefit in terms of low labor cost through exploitation of labor. If the developing countries are allowed the comparative advantage, it will hurt the jobs of workers in their own countries. The developed countries allege that if the developing countries do not raise their labor standards, they may have to lower theirs.

Improving consumer spending will ensure that demand for products and services improves this will ultimately lead to requirement of more manpower thus ending the problem of unemployment.

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE5303F820090401

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08/10/job_cuts_public_sector/

The death threats to Obama reach 30 per day

raymason — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 12:48:15 +0000

Every US president to be elected has received death threats till date. However the number of death threats being received has increased drastically and the count stands at 30 day for Obama. The frequency of these threats raises alarms and as already ensured that the secret service in charge (renegade) of the president’s security are on red alert.

Most of these threats have been suppressed by the secret service has most of these are bogus claims and publicity will only ensure copy-cats spring up at every nook and corner. However each of these death threats has to be investigated and verified. The first black president of the United States definitely needs more personnel for his security considering the alarming rate at which the death threats have increased. It is up 400% compared to the last president George Bush.

The most interesting death threat of them all has been the one by white supremacists in Tennessee who intended to rob a gun store and kill black people including the president himself. Rumors are flying thick and fast that many death threats by the Islamic terrorists have been kept under the wraps.

There clearly is a need for more personnel in the secret service team Renegade. A hoax threat could suddenly turn genuine and the secret service than has to be up to the task in sabotaging this attempt.

Bibliography:

http://www.andhranews.net/Intl/2009/August/4/Obama-faces-death-threats-20946.asp

http://en.oboulo.com/barack-obama-s-use-of-the-indefinite-article-a-63910.html

http://en.oboulo.com/the-president-s-commission-on-the-assassination-of-president-kennedy-58066.html

Pentagon reviewing access on social networking site

raymason — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 12:39:23 +0000

The department of defense in the US is worried about the access of social networking sites by the military personnel. It is also considering reviewing its policy regarding the sites like – Facebook and Twitter. This review was instigated by the ban of access to these sites to Marine Corps network due to security concerns.

This policy review may take clear shape by the end of September which will dictate if the military personnel have any access to these sites. However a ban on these sites could cripple the social life of most of these military personnel who stay away from their families for long years. But the fact that some commanders in Afghanistan and Iraq share information operations raise threat to the security.

The US strategic command is considering a ban on Web 2.0 sites as they consider the users involved in these networking sites may be malicious. Sensitive information may be misused if these users get hand of it.

But banning these networks in all departments is not a solution as some military personnel may still access it from internet cafes or their own homes. So the way to go about this is to have strict guidelines for the military personnel as to how they have to use these sites. Have stringent rules and punish the personnel who fail to adhere to these guidelines. Having restricted access only for critical reasons may also be the answer.

However the families of these military personnel should be prepared to forego those good old days where you could stay connected to your loved ones round the clock come September. Social networking sites to these people might just become history.

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/technology_at_work/archives/2009/08/us_marine_corps.html?chan=technology_technology+index+page_top+stories

http://en.oboulo.com/effective-media-strategies-41863.html

Inquiry to conduct of war in Iraq

raymason — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 09:44:02 +0000

The Government of the U.S. and the UK alleged that Iraq’s possession of weapons of mass destruction possess threat to their security and their allies. United Nations recent investigations found no evidence to both the government’s claim. This move by the United Nations has strengthened the criticism of the poor intelligence of both the countries. Another criticism of the initial intelligence leading up to the Iraq war comes from a former CIA officer who described the Office of Special Plans as a group of ideologues who were dangerous for US national security and a threat to world peace, and that the group cheated and manipulated the intelligence just to further its stand of removing President Hussein.

The rising political pressure because of the ongoing war in Iraq can be witnessed with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown recently announcing that his government would conduct an independent inquiry into Britain’s involvement in the Iraq war, but added that it will be held in secret due to national security reasons.

The Prime Minister also promised the nation that the inquiry into Iraq’s war would be transparent, telecasted live on both the television and online.

Similarly the U.S government has also bowed down to the political pressure by withdrawing its troops from Iraq. People were seen in the streets’ rejoicing this incident.

However the stability of Iraq still remains a question. Can Iraq change its fortune on own?

http://www.answers.com/topic/office-of-special-plans

http://en.oboulo.com/evaluation-of-the-decision-to-go-to-war-in-iraq-54595.html

About 13 million women have abortion every year in China

raymason — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 09:03:16 +0000

The number of abortions performed in China per year is close to 13 million due to lack of awareness about sex education among most of the population. Abortion is considered to be immoral in most parts of the world.

This data was received from registered hospitals. However the experts say this number could be more because the abortions could have been carried out in unregistered clinics. To make things worse the report also states that most of the women were single aged between 20-29 and dint use any form of contraception.

The Chinese had imposed strict birth controls and thus limiting the people to having just one child. This rule did not. The government went on to promote sterilization and subsidized the forms of contraception for married women.

The above policy failed not only because it overlooked the contraception needs of unmarried women also due because casual sex among the unmarried couples had dramatically liberalized.

Considering these strict rules that the country has imposed on its citizens it makes the situation tough for the government to handle it. The government is now left with limited number of options. It (government) should compromise on the rule which it had imposed in 1970 or promote sex education. In this state of international affairs the topic of abortions raises serious concerns.

Conclusion: The China’s one child policy is ‘out of date’ and needs to be abolished

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE56T0S020090730

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8175864.stm