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Tag(s): Agreements; China; Congress; Funding; Government; Hegemony; International; Iran; Iraq; Lieberman-Joe; (more...) Media; Military; Newspapers; Other; Pakistan; Reform; Senate; Story; Taliban; Taliban; Taliban; Turkey; Under The Radar; Weapons (less...)
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July 22, 2007 at 04:16:53

Under the Radar: Ten Warning Signs for Today

by Heather Wokusch Page 2 of 3 page(s)

www.opednews.com

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Meanwhile, in late June, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted to fund by $66 million the production of even more nuclear warheads.

5. VP Arnie?

Schwarzenegger visited his hometown of Graz, Austria in late June, ostensibly to attend the birthday party of a friend. The warm welcome he received was quite a change from two years ago, when tensions flared with town elders over his position on the death penalty and failure to stop an execution in California. The war of words escalated until Schwarzenegger requested that Graz remove his name from a local sports stadium, and in a move reminiscent of high school crushes, he returned a ring which city officials had given him.

This time around, however, Schwarzenegger was conciliatory and local politicians clamored for photo ops – effectively sweeping bad blood under the carpet. How convenient, and how necessary, for Schwarzenegger and any ambitions he may have for 2008.

6. Cutting off Iraq’s water supply

For years, the Turkish government has tried to get international funding to build a dam across the Tigris River. The potential impact on villagers and the environment has stalled the project, and both Iraq and Syria have expressed concern that the proposed Ilisu dam could give Turkey power over their water supply.

European entities considering funding the project have received strong public pressure to back out, and if they do, China appears only too happy to step in and help build the dam.

Meanwhile, an estimated 250,000 Turkish troops are amassed near Northern Iraq and just this week, the Prime Minister of Turkey threatened to invade the country.

Long story short, Turkey and China are increasingly likely to assume a major role in both Iraq and Syria. Doesn’t bode well for the Bush’s administration’s plans.

7. GPS losing its way

The US monopoly over satellite navigation systems appears to be drawing to a close. The Global Positioning System (GPS) has enabled civilians to find their destinations and the military to coordinate troop movements and detect nuclear detonations, but the US system will soon face international competition. Global Navigation Satellite Systems are being developed by Europe, China and India while a Russian system may be operational as early as 2009 – another challenge to US hegemony on the international stage.

8. New Russian arms race?

This month, Russia pulled out of the Treaty for Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, established in 1990 to reduce the number of conventional weapons (such as tanks and combat aircraft) in Europe. Russia’s move signals the latest salvo in a power struggle between European leaders and Russian President Putin, who is dead set against the establishment of new US military bases and anti-missile systems in eastern Europe and central Asia.

But if Russia is not convinced to rejoin the arms Treaty, then by the end of the year it can establish weapons arsenals without NATO inspections and Putin may begin pulling out of other international arms agreements, as Bush has done. Could be the start of a new global arms race.

9. Murdoch’s megalomania

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch has his sites on Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal and Barron’s, among others, and owner of stock market indicators such as the Dow Jones industrial average. Murdoch’s News Corp already controls an outrageous number of newspapers, magazines, TV networks, cable channels and film studios across the world and as Business Week observed in 2004, Murdoch "is not shy about using his media outlets to pursue agendas, whether they're politically conservative causes or his own business interests."

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http://www.heatherwokusch.com

Heather Wokusch is the author of The Progressives' Handbook: Get the Facts and Make a Difference Now, which went to #1 on Amazon's political activism charts in December 2007 (www.progressiveshandbook.com). Heather can be reached at www.heatherwokusch.com.

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6 comments

Life long Republican conservative until about 2001 when I woke up and became an independent moderate convervative.
tginmnLife long Republican conservative until about 2001 when I woke up and became an independent moderate convervative.

The Democrats are really in bed with the status que

The Democrats really do support Bush's middle east policy when they all voted to support Liberman's resolution. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

by tginmn (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 61 comments) on Sunday, July 22, 2007 at 11:54:41 AM

58 yo programmer, US Navy Vet (1969-72), father of 3 great kids
Larry58 yo programmer, US Navy Vet (1969-72), father of 3 great kids

Warning signs

The biggest thing that BushCo is doing is extending the use of Executive Directives to include making new law. Previously, they've been used to only clarify or modify existing law. Regardless, the Constitution makes NO provision for 'directives'; they are 'legal' only because Congress has been complicit in the subversion of our Constitution, and the people don't care.

by Larry (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1 comments) on Sunday, July 22, 2007 at 1:07:06 PM

Dave Kisor was an Aviation Electrician, USN / USNR, starting in 1971, working on A-4F Skyhawks & A-7E Corsair 2s ashore and afloat on the USS Hancock & USS Coral Sea. AA Speech Communications, the BA and MA in Geography and presently working for the US Forest Service as a Physical Science Technician. It's not just an adventure, it's a job. He's politically & progressively Green, and owned by his magnificent cat, The Empress Panthera.
Dave KisorDave Kisor was an Aviation Electrician, USN / USNR, starting in 1971, working on A-4F Skyhawks & A-7E Corsair 2s ashore and afloat on the USS Hancock & USS Coral Sea. AA Speech Communications, the BA and MA in Geography and presently working for the US Forest Service as a Physical Science Technician. It's not just an adventure, it's a job. He's politically & progressively Green, and owned by his magnificent cat, The Empress Panthera.

Just being nit picky & technical

It is a very common mistake to call the American system GPS, as it's name is actually Navstar, short for Navigational Star, which was developed for the Navy to replace LORAN. The Russian system is GLONASS and has been in use for some time and I know a researcher whose aircraft is tuned to the Russian system. Calling ours GPS is largely a show of ignorance.

by Dave Kisor (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 158 comments) on Sunday, July 22, 2007 at 3:51:08 PM

For a living, I manage the design and construction of renewable energy projects. My hobby is sandwich repair; I also swap for parts.
JonmarkPFor a living, I manage the design and construction of renewable energy projects. My hobby is sandwich repair; I also swap for parts.

Not just nitpicky and technical...

but stupid, too. While you're merely showing off, the author has valuable information to communicate. Calling the system "GPS" is such a common mistake that everyone (well, everyone but you) understands immediately what she's talking about. Do you do that often... miss the entire point of an excellent article while you flout the crumb of knowledge you gained from an old issue of Popular Mechanics? Moron.

by JonmarkP (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 91 comments) on Monday, July 23, 2007 at 12:24:57 AM

Ten Signs...

Excellent article, the best I've read today. I had to slap the dink who felt compelled to comment on your use of the term "GPS". Felt pretty good, too.
JP

by JonmarkP (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 91 comments) on Monday, July 23, 2007 at 12:28:51 AM