Saturday, February 11, 2012

DTN News - SPECIAL REPORT FROM ENTERTAINMENT WORLD: Singer Whitney Houston Dies At 48

DTN News - SPECIAL REPORT FROM ENTERTAINMENT WORLD: Singer Whitney Houston Dies At 48

 (NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - February 11, 2012:  Whitney Houston, who ruled as pop music's queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, has died. She was 48.

Houston's publicist, Kristen Foster, said Saturday that the singer had died, but the cause and the location of her death were unknown.

News of Houston's death came on the eve of music's biggest night — the Grammy Awards. It's a showcase where she once reigned, and her death was sure to case a heavy pall on Sunday's ceremony. Houston's longtime mentor Clive Davis was to hold his annual concert and dinner Saturday; it was unclear if it was going to go forward.

At her peak, Houston the golden girl of the music industry. From the middle 1980s to the late 1990s, she was one of the world's best-selling artists. She wowed audiences with effortless, powerful, and peerless vocals that were rooted in the black church but made palatable to the masses with a pop sheen.

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Gen. Dempsey In Kabul Afghanistan

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Gen. Dempsey In Kabul Afghanistan

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - February 11, 2012:  U.S. Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, passes the Afghanistan honor guard at the Ministry of Defense in Kabul, Afghanistan, Feb. 9, 2012. DOD photo by D. Myles Cullen

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Dempsey Discusses Issues With Egypt’s Defense Leaders

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Dempsey Discusses Issues With Egypt’s Defense Leaders

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - February 11, 2012: The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff met here today with Egypt’s top defense officials to discuss a wide range of issues related to the long-standing security relationship between the two countries, said Marine Corps Col. Dave Lapan, the chairman’s spokesman.

The meetings occur on day three of Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey’s second visit to the region, which included a stop in Afghanistan.

The chairman met here with his counterpart, Lt. Gen. Sami Hafez Enan, chief of staff of the Egyptian armed forces. He also met with Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi and with other officials this afternoon at the Ministry of Defense in Cairo.

Discussions included Egypt’s investigation into the allegedly illegal foreign funding of pro-democracy nongovernmental organizations by more than 40 Egyptian and American activists, including 19 U.S. citizens.

DTN News - SUDAN UNREST: Chinese, Russian Arms Fuel Darfur Abuse: Amnesty

DTN News - SUDAN UNREST: Chinese, Russian Arms Fuel Darfur Abuse: Amnesty

 (NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - February 11, 2012: Chinese-made bullets and aircraft bought from Russia are used to commit rights violations in Sudan's Darfur under an ineffective UN arms embargo, Amnesty International said on Thursday.

The London-based rights watchdog aired similar concerns five years ago but its latest report comes after "a new wave of fighting" between opposition groups and government forces over the past year.

"This has included targeted and ethnically motivated attacks on civilian settlements, and indiscriminate and disproportionate aerial bombings that have contributed to the displacement of an estimated 70,000 people from their homes and villages," Amnesty said.

It said China and Russia continue to supply weapons and munitions to Sudan despite "compelling evidence" they will be used against civilians in Darfur, the western region where rebel groups rose up against Khartoum's Arab-dominated government in 2003.

The exports also include attack jets, air-to-ground rockets and armoured vehicles, Amnesty said.

"China and Russia are selling arms to the government of Sudan in the full knowledge that many of them are likely to end up being used to commit human rights violations in Darfur," said Brian Wood, an expert on military and policing for Amnesty.

As an example, the group cited a December 1 incident in which the paramilitary Central Reserve Police carried out a "looting raid" in which one man was shot dead and six people were wounded in the Zam Zam camp for people displaced by the Darfur conflict.

Witnesses told Amnesty they found bullet cartridges marked with Chinese codes indicating their transfer to Darfur after the arms embargo began in 2004.

Amnesty said fighting in Darfur has been accompanied by a repeated pattern of airborne attacks on civilian and military targets using Sukhoi-25 jets, Mi-24 gunships and Antonov transport planes used as "rudimentary but effective bombers."

Sudan received 36 new Mi-24 helicopters from Russia between 2007 and 2009, a number which "undoubtedly" compensates for those lost during Darfur operations last year, Amnesty said.

"Their continual replacement by the Russian Federation makes it possible for such attacks to continue," despite a UN prohibition on airstrikes, it said.

Attacks on civilian settlements and property by armed opposition groups in Darfur have also persisted, in violation of international law, the group added. But it could not verify the origin of the rebels' military equipment -- much of which the rebels claimed to have captured from government forces.

DTN News - SINGAPORE DEFENSE NEWS: Singapore Seeks Tankers, Tranports, ASW

DTN News - SINGAPORE DEFENSE NEWS: Singapore Seeks Tankers, Tranports, ASW

 (NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - February 11, 2012: Airbus Military could be one of the main beneficiaries of the Singapore air force’s next round of procurements. Singapore has at the top of its procurement list aerial refueling tankers, strategic airlifters and anti-submarine warfare fixed-wing aircraft, purchases that will see that the island continues to be, for the next few years at least, the biggest spender on new defense equipment in Southeast Asia.

The 2011 defense budget was SG$12.1 billion ($9.6 billion), accounting for 26% of the government budget and about 5% of gross domestic product (GDP). Some analysts estimate that Singapore, with a population of about five million, spends more on defense per capita than any country but Israel.

Defense has always been a top priority, ever since Singapore gained independence in 1965. The nation’s founder, Lee Kwan Yew, recently said in the book Hard Truths, that “without a strong defense, there will be no Singapore. It will become a satellite, cowed and intimidated by its neighbors.”

Singapore has close defense ties with Israel, a point that is downplayed—because it is politically sensitive—but one that is important to remember because it explains why Israeli companies are short-listed by the Singaporeans for upcoming defense purchases. The Israelis are in the running to supply aerial refueling tankers and anti-submarine warfare fixed-wing aircraft.

Aerial refueling tankers are at the top of the list because the air force needs to replace its four Boeing KC-135Rs. An important requirement is that the new tankers be able to assist the air force’s Boeing F-15SGs flying between Singapore and its overseas detachment at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho.

The Boeing KC-46A would ordinarily be the front-runner but Boeing may have to struggle to win the Singapore contract. The manufacturer is already committed to deliver 18 KC-46As to the U.S. Air Force by 2017, leaving no early delivery slots for foreign customers. A Boeing official told Aviation Week in July 2011 that it can deliver KC-46As to foreign customers as early as 2018. But that may be too late for Singapore. Industry executives say Singapore’s air force has been complaining about the difficulty and cost of maintaining the aging KC-135Rs. But the need to secure aerial refueling tankers sooner rather than later creates an opportunity for Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), which converts 767s to tankers.

However, industry executives familiar with the situation say the front-runner in this competition is the Airbus Military A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT). Australian air force officials told DTI at the LIMA air show in Malaysia in December that the Singapore air force was interested in the A330MRTT and that the organizers of the Singapore air show were pushing to have a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) tanker on display there. The RAAF, however, has declined the request. They say the only reason the A330MRTT was brought to LIMA was because it had to be in Malaysia for a joint military exercise.

Friday, February 10, 2012

DTN News - ROYAL FAMILY NEWS: Prince Harry Pays A Visit To Fellow Troops At RAF Honington

DTN News - ROYAL FAMILY NEWS: Prince Harry Pays A Visit To Fellow Troops At RAF Honington

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - February 10, 2012: Prince Harry chats to camouflaged armed forces comrades who look like they’ve just walked out of a swamp at a visit to RAF Honington today, near Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk.

DTN News - ROYAL FAMILY NEWS: Prince Harry Pays A Visit To Fellow Troops At RAF Honington

DTN News - ROYAL FAMILY NEWS: Prince Harry Pays A Visit To Fellow Troops At RAF Honington

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - February 10, 2012: Prince Harry looks on during a visit to RAF Honington on February 10, 2012 in Honington, England. The Prince met Afghanistan veterans and was shown equipment such as sniper rifles, night vision systems and machine guns. (Photo - Getty)

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: U.S. DoD Awarded Contract To Lockheed Martin Related To F-35 JSF For Marine Corps

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: U.S. DoD Awarded Contract To Lockheed Martin Related To F-35 JSF For Marine Corps

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - February 10, 2012: Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $14,800,000 modification to a previously awarded advance acquisition contract (N00019-11-C-0083) to procure long lead items for F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter low rate initial production Lot 6 short take-off vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft for the Marine Corps. 

 Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is necessary to protect the delivery schedules of STOVL aircraft planned for delivery through December 2014.  Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  

The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

DTN News - SYRIA UNREST: Syrians Are Demonstrating Against Bashar Assad's Regime In Homs

DTN News - SYRIA UNREST: Syrians Are Demonstrating Against Bashar Assad's Regime In Homs

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - February 9, 2012: This image from amateur video made available by Shaam News Network on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2012, purports to show Syrians chanting slogans during a demonstration in Homs, Syria.

Activists say 95 people have been killed so far on Thursday. Hundreds have reportedly died since last week.

Homs, Syria's third-largest city, has been a leading focus of unrest in the 11-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's rule.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon condemned the "appalling brutality" of the onslaught.

DTN News - SYRIA UNREST: Suffering Deepens In Bombarded Syrian City Of Homs

DTN News - SYRIA UNREST: Suffering Deepens In Bombarded Syrian City Of Homs

 (NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - February 9, 2012: This image from amateur video made available by Shaam News Network on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2012, purports to show smoke filling the air from a house on fire in Homs, Syria.

Activists say 95 people have been killed so far on Thursday. Hundreds have reportedly died since last week.

Homs, Syria's third-largest city, has been a leading focus of unrest in the 11-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's rule.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon condemned the "appalling brutality" of the onslaught.

DTN News - SYRIA UNREST: Homs Being Surrounded By Syrian Military Tanks

DTN News - SYRIA UNREST: Homs Being Surrounded By Syrian Military Tanks

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - February 9, 2012: This image from amateur video made available by Shaam News Network on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2012, purports to show a Syrian military tank in Homs, Syria.

The Syrian army has launched fresh mortar and rocket attacks in the city of Homs, as the government continues a push aimed at crushing rebel forces.

Activists say 95 people have been killed so far on Thursday. Hundreds have reportedly died since last week.

Homs, Syria's third-largest city, has been a leading focus of unrest in the 11-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's rule.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon condemned the "appalling brutality" of the onslaught.

DTN News - SYRIA UNREST: Syrian Rebel On Guard In Idlib, Syria

DTN News - SYRIA UNREST:  Syrian Rebel On Guard In Idlib, Syria

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - February 9, 2012:  A Syrian rebel peers through the scope on his weapon in Idlib, Syria, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2012. Syrian forces fired mortars and rockets that killed scores of people Thursday in the rebellious city of Homs, activists said, the latest strike in a weeklong assault as President Bashar Assad's regime tries to crush increasingly militarized pockets of dissent.  (Photo - AP)

DTN News - AFGHAN WAR NEWS: U.S. Soldiers On High Alert Patrol After A Suicide Attack In Kandahar Afghanistan

DTN News - AFGHAN WAR NEWS: U.S. Soldiers On High Alert Patrol After A Suicide Attack In Kandahar Afghanistan

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - February 9, 2012: U.S. soldiers part of the NATO- led International Security Assistace Force (ISAF) are seen alert at the scene of a suicide attack in Kandahar, south of Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Feb. 5, 2012. A car bomb exploded just outside the police headquarters of a southern Afghanistan city on Sunday, killing at least seven people, officials said. (Photo - AP)

DTN News - CANADA / CHINA NEWS: Canadian Prime Minister Harper Looks At John Baird Shakes Hands With Chinese President Hu Jintao In Beijing

DTN News - CANADA / CHINA NEWS: Canadian Prime Minister Harper Looks At John Baird Shakes Hands With Chinese President Hu Jintao In Beijing

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - February 9, 2012: Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, center, looks at Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs John Baird, left, as he shakes hands with Chinese President Hu Jintao before their meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2012. (Photo - AP)

DTN News - CANADA / CHINA NEWS: Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper For Free Trade Talks In China

DTN News - CANADA / CHINA NEWS: Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper For Free Trade Talks In China

 (NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - February 9, 2012: Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper delivers a speech during the closing of the 5th Canada-China Business Forum on February 9, 2012 in Beijing, China. Harper is on a five-day trip to China. (Photo - Getty)

DTN News - U.K. DEFENSE NEWS: UK To Buy Another Boeing C-17 Military Plane

DTN News - U.K. DEFENSE NEWS: UK To Buy Another Boeing C-17 Military Plane

 (NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - February 9, 2012: The aircraft, which will cost £200m, will be based at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire along with the other aircraft in the fleet which are operated by 99 Squadron. The multi-million pound C-17 aircraft can fly over 4,500 nautical miles, meaning it can fly directly from Helmand Province to the UK.

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said:
"The C-17 has shown its worth in Afghanistan ensuring that our troops are given the fastest, most efficient passage home. It is a vastly impressive aircraft that can carry three Apache helicopters, or take a whole Chinook helicopter. This latest addition to the RAF fleet will further strengthen the vital airbridge between Britain and Afghanistan, ensuring critical deliveries are made to the front line.

“Buying equipment off-the-shelf allows us to quickly deliver equipment that our troops need on operations at best value prices for the tax payer and is a great example of the White Paper, announced last week, in action.”

As well as transporting troops and equipment, C-17s can also be converted rapidly to offer Intensive Care provision in support of the Aeromedical Airbridge. One aircraft is on standby 24-hours a day to fly seriously injured personnel back to the UK at short notice. The aircraft can also be deployed to help with humanitarian and disaster relief efforts around the world.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Israel's President Shimon Peres Sends Message Of Peace To Iranians

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Israel's President Shimon Peres Sends Message Of Peace To Iranians

 (NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - February 8, 2012: President Shimon Peres sent a message of peace to Iranians from the podium of Israel's parliament on Wednesday, saying there was no need for the two peoples to be foes.

"We were not born enemies and there is no need for us to live as enemies," Peres said in a speech marking the 63rd anniversary of the Knesset's founding.

"Do not allow the flags of hostility to cast a dark shadow on your historic heritage," he said. "Your people are a sensitive people who aspire for friendship and peace, and not for conflict and wars."

In a televised address on Friday, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei described Israel as "a cancerous tumour that must be cut out, and God willing it will be."

"From now on we will support any group that will fight the Zionist regime," said the all-powerful Iranian leader.

Speculation has risen in recent weeks, driven in part by comments made by officials in the Jewish state, about the possibility of an Israeli military strike on Iran.

Israel and much of the international community believe that Iran's nuclear programme masks a covert weapons drive, a charge Tehran denies.

Widely believed to be the Middle East's only albeit undeclared nuclear power, Israel has supported tough sanctions against Iran but also insists on retaining the military option to halt its nuclear activities.

Before the 1979 Islamic revolution which brought the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to power, Israel and the shah's Iran had warm relations.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: BAE May Cut Typhoon Price To Win India Order

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: BAE May Cut Typhoon Price To Win India Order

 (NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - February 7, 2012: BAE Systems is considering lowering the price of its Eurofighter Typhoon to win back an $11bn (£7bn) Indian contract from France’s Dassault.

Ian King, BAE’s chief executive, said the company was considering a range of options to secure the deal to supply fighter jets, which could help prevent a major industrial setback for Britain.

A source close to the company said BAE was consulting with its partners in Germany, Italy and Spain to see what was feasible in the coming days and weeks.

India had previously changed its mind on defence contracts, the source said, adding there was “still some way to go” before any decisions by the country had been made.

The insider insisted the contract was still up for grabs, with Dassault’s Rafale only having been named as the lowest-priced compliant bidder rather than being awarded the contract.

The Government’s drive to kickstart growth and rebalance the economy towards advanced manufacturing suffered a blow last month when the Indian government named the French manufacturer as its preferred partner for the deal.

Trade union Unite warned the selection of the Rafale could have "serious implications" for BAE Systems and the UK aerospace industry. It is estimated that 40,000 UK jobs are supported by the project.

Winning the Indian contract would help sustain tens of thousands of jobs, although production is expected to gradually move to India if Britain won the deal.

BAE currently has enough orders for the Typhoon to maintain work until 2017.

The Typhoon is made by Britain's BAE, European giant EADS, and Italy's Finmeccanica. The UK accounts for 37.5pc of production with the aircraft assembled at BAE's aerospace facilities in Lancashire and suppliers including GKN, Ultra Electronics and Rolls-Royce.

Last year, BAE cut 3,000 jobs in the UK, partly because it had won fewer export orders for the Typhoon than planned.

DTN News - AFGHANISTAN NEWS: Afghanistan - Moving Toward A Distant Endgame

DTN News - AFGHANISTAN NEWS: Afghanistan - Moving Toward A Distant Endgame

 (NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - February 7, 2012:  U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta suggested last week that the United States could wrap up combat operations in Afghanistan by the end of 2013, well before the longstanding 2014 deadline when full control is to be ceded to Kabul. Troops would remain in Afghanistan until 2014, as agreed upon at the 2010 Lisbon Summit, and would be engaged in two roles until at least 2014 and perhaps even later. One role would be continuing the training of Afghan security forces. The other would involve special operations troops carrying out capture or kill operations against high-value targets.

Along with this announcement, the White House gave The New York Times some details on negotiations that have been under way with the Taliban. According to the Times, Mullah Mohammad Omar, the senior-most leader of the Afghan Taliban, last summer made overtures to the White House offering negotiations. An intermediary claiming to speak for Mullah Omar delivered the proposal, an unsigned document purportedly from Mullah Omar that could not be established as authentic. The letter demanded the release of some Taliban prisoners before any talks. In spite of the ambiguities, which included a recent public denial by the Taliban that the offer came from Mullah Omar, U.S. officials, obviously acting on other intelligence, regarded the proposal as both authentic and representative of the views of the Taliban leadership and, in all likelihood, those of Mullah Omar, too.

The idea of negotiating with the Taliban is not new. Talks, as distinct from negotiations, in which specific terms are hammered out, have gone on for some time now. Several previous attempts have ended in failure, including one instance when the supposed representative proved to be a fraud. However, according to the Times report, the negotiations took on a degree of specificity last summer. They began in November 2010, initiated by a man named Tayyab Agha, who claimed to speak for Mullah Omar. The administration of U.S. President Barack Obama regards authenticating the present offer as unimportant and the intermediary as having authority; the question on the table is the release of Taliban captives as a token of American seriousness.

DTN News - LOCKHEED MARTIN DEFENSE NEWS: Eleventh C-5B Inducted To Become Super Galaxy

DTN News - LOCKHEED MARTIN DEFENSE NEWS: Eleventh C-5B Inducted To Become Super Galaxy
 (NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - February 7, 2012: Lockheed Martin inducted the 11th aircraft to the C-5M Super Galaxy production line on Feb. 1, 2012. 
Based at Dover Air Force Base, Del., this aircraft has supported the warfighter’s operations across the globe. It has delivered cargo in locations such as Iraq, Italy, Germany, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Qatar, Spain and Turkey. 
Aircraft 86-0017 has accumulated more than 18,000 flight hours and more than 4,300 full-stop landings
Mission The C-5 Galaxy is one of the largest aircraft in the world and the largest airlifter in the Air Force inventory. The aircraft can carry a fully equipped combat-ready military unit to any point in the world on short notice and then provide the supplies required to help sustain the fighting force. 


http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.com/2012/02/dtn-news-lockheed-martin-defense-news.html

DTN News: U.S. Department of Defense Contracts Dated February 6, 2012

DTN News: U.S. Department of Defense Contracts Dated February 6, 2012
  
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - February 6, 2012: U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) Contracts issued  February  6, 2012 are undermentioned;

CONTRACTS
NAVY
            Bechtel Plant Machinery, Inc., Monroeville, Pa., is being awarded a $583,025,557 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for naval nuclear propulsion components.  Work will be performed in Monroeville, Pa. (65.9 percent), and Schenectady, N.Y. (34.1 percent). Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  No completion date or additional information is provided on Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program contracts.  The Naval Sea Systems Command is the contracting activity (N00024-12-C-2107).

            Sikorsky Support Services, Inc., Pensacola, Fla., was awarded on Jan. 31 a $26,063,162 modification to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery requirements contract (N00019-11-D-0014) to exercise an option for logistics services and materials for organizational, intermediate, and depot-level maintenance to support 161 T-34, 54 T-44, and 172 T-6 aircraft based primarily at Naval Air Station (NAS) Corpus Christi, Texas; NAS Whiting Field, Fla.; and NAS Pensacola, Fla.  Work will be performed in Corpus Christi, Texas (50 percent); Whiting Field, Fla. (39 percent); Pensacola, Fla. (8 percent); and various sites within the continental United States (3 percent).  Work is expected to be completed in April 2012.  Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  No funds will be obligated at time of award.  The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

            Huntington Ingalls, Inc., Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a $9,000,000 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-10-C-2229) for additional long lead time material in support of the LHA Replacement Flight 0 amphibious assault ship, LHA 7.  Work will be performed in Pascagoula, Miss, and is expected to be completed by May 2013.  Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.

Monday, February 6, 2012

DTN News - IRAN NUCLEAR FACTOR: Obama Says Risky To Attack Iran, Wants Diplomatic Fix

DTN News - IRAN NUCLEAR FACTOR: Obama Says Risky To Attack Iran, Wants Diplomatic Fix

 (NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - February 6, 2012: In a television interview, Obama also said he did not believe Tehran had the "intentions or capabilities" to attack the United States, playing down the threats from Tehran and saying he wanted a diplomatic end to the nuclear standoff.

"Any kind of additional military activity inside the Gulf is disruptive and has a big effect on us. It could have a big effect on oil prices. We've still got troops in Afghanistan, which borders Iran. And so our preferred solution here is diplomatic," Obama said.

His comments echoed concerns expressed by earlier by Iran's neighbor Turkey that an attack on Iran would be disastrous.

Obama, who is up for re-election in November, has ended the U.S. war in Iraq and is winding down combat in Afghanistan amid growing public discontent about American war spending at a time when the economy remains shaky.

He said Israel had not yet decided what to do in response to the escalating tension but was "rightly" concerned about Tehran's plans.

"My number one priority continues to be the security of the United States, but also the security of Israel, and we are going to make sure that we work in lockstep as we proceed to try to solve this, hopefully diplomatically," he told NBC.

Iranian leaders have responded sharply to speculation that Israel could bomb Iran within months to stop it from assembling nuclear weapons, threatening to retaliate against any country that launches an attack against the Islamic Republic.

Iran says its nuclear program is meant to produce energy, not weapons.

But its recent shift of uranium enrichment to a mountain bunker - possibly impervious to conventional bombing - and refusal to negotiate peaceful guarantees for the program or open up to U.N. inspectors have raised fears about Iran's ambitions as well as concerns about Gulf oil supplies.

DTN News - INDIA DEFENSE NEWS: Why India Chose Rafale

DTN News - INDIA DEFENSE NEWS: Why India Chose Rafale

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - February 6, 2012: When Pratibha Patil travelled to Europe last October, she and others in her entourage had a pleasant surprise in the sky. At one point along the air space that the President’s flight was using, half a squadron of Eurofighters appeared on both sides of her Air India plane.

In the graceful style of these sleek war machines, they escorted the presidential aircraft to its safe landing at Patil’s next destination. Even so, those manning the Eurofighters could not resist showing off.

When the Eurofighters displayed the prowess of this advanced new-generation, multi-role combat aircraft to the President, members of Parliament and senior officials accompanying her, New Delhi’s quest for 126 planes of its kind could not have been far from the minds of their pilots.

The competition for the biggest military aviation deal in history, which began 11 years ago when the defence ministry initiated its “request for information” or RFI, had just entered its final and decisive phase.

But the impromptu decision to send the Eurofighters across European skies to impress the President was typical of what cost some rivals of Dassault Aviation — last week’s winners — the lucrative Indian Air Force contract.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

DTN News - DEFENSE & INTELLIGENCE NEWS: China's Cyber Thievery Is National Policy—And Must Be Challenged

DTN News - DEFENSE & INTELLIGENCE NEWS: China's Cyber Thievery Is National Policy—And Must Be Challenged

 (NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - February 5, 2012:Only three months ago, we would have violated U.S. secrecy laws by sharing what we write here—even though, as a former director of national intelligence, secretary of homeland security, and deputy secretary of defense, we have long known it to be true. The Chinese government has a national policy of economic espionage in cyberspace. In fact, the Chinese are the world's most active and persistent practitioners of cyber espionage today.

Evidence of China's economically devastating theft of proprietary technologies and other intellectual property from U.S. companies is growing. Only in October 2011 were details declassified in a report to Congress by the Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive. Each of us has been speaking publicly for years about the ability of cyber terrorists to cripple our critical infrastructure, including financial networks and the power grid. Now this report finally reveals what we couldn't say before: The threat of economic cyber espionage looms even more ominously.

The report is a summation of the catastrophic impact cyber espionage could have on the U.S. economy and global competitiveness over the next decade. Evidence indicates that China intends to help build its economy by intellectual-property theft rather than by innovation and investment in research and development (two strong suits of the U.S. economy). The nature of the Chinese economy offers a powerful motive to do so.
According to 2009 estimates by the United Nations, China has a population of 1.3 billion, with 468 million (about 36% of the population) living on less than $2 a day. While Chinese poverty has declined dramatically in the last 30 years, income inequality has increased, with much greater benefits going to the relatively small portion of educated people in urban areas, where about 25% of the population lives.

The bottom line is this: China has a massive, inexpensive work force ravenous for economic growth. It is much more efficient for the Chinese to steal innovations and intellectual property—the source code of advanced economies—than to incur the cost and time of creating their own. They turn those stolen ideas directly into production, creating products faster and cheaper than the U.S. and others.

Cyberspace is an ideal medium for stealing intellectual capital. Hackers can easily penetrate systems that transfer large amounts of data, while corporations and governments have a very hard time identifying specific perpetrators.

Unfortunately, it is also difficult to estimate the economic cost of these thefts to the U.S. economy. The report to Congress calls the cost "large" and notes that this includes corporate revenues, jobs, innovation and impacts to national security. Although a rigorous assessment has not been done, we think it is safe to say that "large" easily means billions of dollars and millions of jobs.

DTN News - INSIGHT BIHAR STATE ~ INDIA NEWS: From Darkest India, An Enlightened Leader

DTN News - INSIGHT BIHAR STATE ~ INDIA NEWS: From Darkest India, An Enlightened Leader

 (NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - February 5, 2012: Patna is the capital of the Indian state of Bihar, and one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world. The modern city of Patna lies on the southern bank of the Ganges. The city also straddles the rivers Kosi, Sone and Gandak. The population is 1.8 million people. Patna is approximately 25 km long and 9 km to 10 km wide. Ancient Patna, known as Patliputra, was the capital of Magadha Empire under the Nanda, Mauryan, Sunga, Gupta and Pala dynasties. Patliputra was also a famous seat of learning and fine arts. Its population during Maurya period (around 300 BCE), was about 400,000. The Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain pilgrim centres of Vaishali, Rajgir (or Rajgriha), Nalanda, Bodhgaya, and Pawapuri are nearby and Patna is also a sacred city for Sikhs. The tenth and last Sikh guru, Guru Gobind Singh, was born here. Apart from being the administrative centre of the state and its historic importance, the city is also a major educational and medical centre. The walled old area, called Patna City by the locals, is a major trading centre.

History

Legend ascribes the origin of Patna to a mythological King Putraka who created Patna by magic for his queen Patali, literally Trumpet flower, which gives it its ancient name Pataligrama. It is said that in honour of the first born to the queen, the city was named Pataliputra. Gram is the Sanskrit for village and Putra means son.

From a scientific history perspective, it would be appropriate to surmise that the history of Patna started around the year 490 BCE when Ajatashatru, the king of Magadh, wanted to shift his capital from the hilly Rajagriha to a more strategically located place to combat the Licchavis of Vaishali. He chose the site on the bank of Ganges and fortified the area. From that time, the city has had a continuous history, a record claimed by few cities in the world. Gautam Buddha passed through this place in the last year of his life, and he had prophesized a great future for this place, but at the same time, he predicted its ruin from flood, fire, and feud.

With the rise of the Mauryan empire, the place became the seat of power and nerve centre of the sub-continent. From Pataliputra, the famed emperor Chandragupta Maurya (a contemporary of Alexander) ruled a vast empire, stretching from the Bay of Bengal to Afghanistan

Early Mauryan Patliputra was mostly built with wooden structures. Emperor Ashoka, the grandson of Chandragupta Maurya, transformed the wooden capital into a stone construction around 273 BCE. Chinese scholar Fa Hein, who visited India sometime around 399-414 CE, has given a vivid description of the stone structures in his travelogue.

Megasthenes (350-290 BCE), Greek historian and ambassador to the court of Chandragupta Maurya, gives the first written account of Patliputra. In his book Indika, he mentions that the city of Palibothra (Pataliputra, modern day Patna) was situated on the confluence of the rivers Ganges and Arennovoas (Sonabhadra – Hiranyawah) and was 9 miles (14 km) long and 1.75 miles (2.82 km) wide.

Much later, a number of Chinese travellers came to India in pursuit of knowledge and recorded their observation about Pataliputra in their travelogues, including those of a Chinese Buddhist Fa Hien, who visited India, between 399 and 414 CE, and stayed here for many months translating Buddhist texts.

In the years that followed, the city saw many dynasties ruling the Indian subcontinent from here. It saw the rules of the Gupta empire and the Pala kings. However, it never reached the glory that it had under the Mauryas.

DTN News - INSIGHT BIHAR STATE ~ INDIA NEWS: From Darkest India, An Enlightened Leader

DTN News - INSIGHT BIHAR STATE ~ INDIA NEWS: From Darkest India, An Enlightened Leader

 (NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - February 5, 2012:  There's an apocryphal story about Bihar, a sprawling state on the Gangetic plains of eastern India that for decades held the dubious honor of being the most violent, poverty-stricken and corrupt in the land.

A Japanese minister visiting in the 1990s, shocked at the decrepit buildings, the darkness at night even in the centre of town and the crumbling roads, declared that it was all solvable.

"Give me three years," he told a state leader, "and I can turn Bihar into Japan."

"That's nothing," came the laconic reply from his host. "Give me three days and I will turn Japan into Bihar."

Bihar is no longer the butt of jokes, however, not since Nitish Kumar took charge of the ruined state in 2005 and began to turn it around -- winning such respect that he stands a decent chance of one day becoming prime minister of India.

"My first priority was governance, my second priority was governance and my third priority was governance," Chief Minister Kumar told Reuters at his office in the state capital, Patna, a dusty city where property prices have soared to levels paid in far away New Delhi, even as its streets teem with the desperately poor.

"Bihar suffered not because of bad governance but because of a lack of governance."

When India launched reforms to open up its state-stifled economy 20 years ago, many states surged ahead, leaving behind the 3.5 percent "Hindu rate of growth" that had plagued the decades after the country's independence from Britain in 1947, and with it Bihar.