COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Pentagon Purchasing Counterfeit Electronics Parts from China




Senators want China to assist probe of counterfeit weapons parts

By Bill Gertz-The Washington Times1:14 p.m., Tuesday, June 14, 2011


China's government is refusing to assist Senate investigators probing Chinese firms that are selling counterfeit parts that have been found in high-tech U.S. weapons systems, the leaders of the Senate Armed Services Committee said Tuesday.

Committee Chairman Carl Levin, Michigan Democrat, and Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican, told reporters that a panel investigation revealed that U.S. defense contractors and government agencies traced the sources of most fake defense parts to Shenzhen, in Guangdong province near Hong Kong.

China has rejected requests for committee staff to visit Shenzhen as part of the probe, Mr. Levin said, noting that investigators are meeting with U.S. officials in Hong Kong to seek help.

“The Chinese have said, well, even if this could be arranged, there would have to be a Chinese official present during the interviews,” Mr. Levin said. “That is a non-starter, somebody looking at our staff while they’re interviewing people who are relevant to an investigation.”

Trade in counterfeit parts “takes place openly in that city and in that province,” Mr. Levin said.

Mr. McCain said he hopes the Chinese will assist in the staff investigation.

A report by the Government Accountability Office published in March 2010 stated that the global supplier network used by the Pentagon provides 4 million parts worth $94 billion.

The parts include fasteners used on aircraft, missile guidance electronics, materials used in body armor and engine mounts.

“Counterfeit parts have the potential to cause a serious disruption to DoD supply chains, delay ongoing missions, and even affect the integrity of weapon systems,” the report said.

It noted that the problem is not limited to weapons systems but includes the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Energy Department, along with private-sector producers of software, commercial aviation, automotive parts and consumer electronics and “can threaten the safety of consumers.”

Mr. Levin said counterfeit parts that have “infiltrated” the defense supply chain include microprocessors bought by the Air Force for F-15 operational flight-control computers. Counterfeit microcircuits also were found on hardware of the Pentagon’s Missile Defense Agency.

“In January of 2010, the Commerce Department published the results of a survey of almost 400 companies and organizations in the Department of Defense’s supply chain,” Mr. Levin said.

“Those who were surveyed overwhelmingly cited China as the country suspected of being the source of the counterfeit electronic parts.”

Dale Meyerrose, a specialist with Harris Cyber Integrated Solutions, said the senators’ concerns are justified because threats to critical infrastructure from compromised supply chains are serious and endanger national security and public safety.

“Motivations behind these threats range from the criminally opportunistic driven by profit and greed to state-sponsored seeking an asymmetric advantage over our often superior military or industry entities,” he said.

Chinese officials this month criticized pending U.S. legislation that would continue a ban on Chinese military companies from bidding on U.S. weapons programs.

They told the state-run Xinhua News Agency that the measure is inconsistent with international trade rules and “a distorted reaction arising from U.S. wariness and bias about China’s growing national strength.”

“It shows that the United States worries that China is challenging its global hegemonic status,” the June 2 article said.

The House bill changes language from legislation enacted in 2006 blocking Chinese military companies from contracts by altering provisions that would allow the defense secretary to provide a waiver of the ban if a Chinese company’s products were needed to support U.S. national security.

55 comments:

  1. Counterfeit weapons parts? Weapons parts made in imitation? Who are they imitating? The article didn't say.

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  2. A rose by any other name,
    it smells as sweet.

    The Russell Company lives.

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  3. I, immediately, flashed to what Bill Casey did to the Soviet pipeline.

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  4. Meanwhile, as our sad old world turns US Ships May Return To Cam Rahn Bay and a former foe may become a friend.

    The Vietnamese never did seem to hold it against us after it was over due partly to the Buddhist influence - enemies arise, mutually arise, then subside - and because they are Vietnamese because they have fought a long line of folk, Chinese, Cambodians, French, Japanese, French again, then us, to maintain their identity.

    Sometimes people fight simply to maintain their language.

    dwr

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  5. It begins;

    Empire State Manufacturing Index Down 7.8

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  6. .

    Sometimes people fight simply to maintain their language.

    Independance?

    We entered Vietnam under the simplistic rationale of the domino theory, assuming China would continue to roll country after country though Southeast Asia. The theory ignored the fact that the Vietnamese had been fighting the Chinese for a 1000 years.

    The first thing the Vietnamese did when the US left?

    They went to war with China.

    .

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  7. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  8. Yeah, you think We're slow. The Chinese have been grabbing that hot horseshoe for a thousand years, and they still haven't learned.

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  9. The "Best and the Brightest" forgot to read their history. No one conquers Vietnam. It just ain't worth it.

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  10. Diesel fuel demand Down 3.6%, YOY, for 4wk period.

    I don't see any way we're not heading into recession.

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  11. There were more than a few GI's who figured we on the wrong side of the killing in Viet Nam.

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  12. And our good friend the Pakis are rounding up those poor bastards that gave us the intel on bin Laden. Empire is a real bitch in the mornings.

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  13. Is there any political indignation in this administration over China?"

    In justifying U.S. involvement in Libya, the Obama administration cited the "responsibility to protect" citizens of other countries when their governments engage in widespread violence against them. But in the realm of cyberspace, the administration is ignoring its primary responsibility to protect its own citizens when they are targeted for harm by a foreign government.

    Senior U.S. officials know well that the government of China is systematically attacking the computer networks of the U.S. government and American corporations. Beijing is successfully stealing research and development, software source code, manufacturing know-how and government plans. In a global competition among knowledge-based economies, Chinese cyberoperations are eroding America's advantage.
    WSJ

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  14. Yes, I should have said independence too. Language, culture, independence.

    dwr

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  15. Not really!

    That explains a lot let me tell you.

    The odd nutrient starved mentation, the emphasis on fate rather than destiny, the fantastic imaginative adventures, quickly undertaken, just as quickly given up, etc.

    But it doesn't explain this - the incoherent favoring of the carnivorous wolves over the gentle flora feeding elk.

    How to explain this is anyone's guess.

    How to know the mind of any vegan.....

    dwr

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  16. Vegan -

    Indian word for Poor Hunter

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  17. :)

    po hunter and po fisherman

    But good at diggin' camus roots with the women

    dwr

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  18. Baltic Dry Index continues to be in the doldrums. It's trending down again. Check out the five-year chart.

    Bulk shipping is at 1/2 the volume it was in June of 2006.

    The effect of the bubble bursting in 2008 is rather dramatic.

    If this is an indicator of "recovery", it ain't much.

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  19. Bro, part of what you're seeing in the BD Index is a glut of ships (the index is "prices," not quantities.) The world went on a huge ship-building binges a few years ago, and demand didn't expand to meet the new supply (of ships.)

    BTW, that is One of Greece's big problems. A very large part of their GDP is connected to Shipping.

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  20. Bro, part of what you're seeing in the BD Index is a glut of ships (the index is "prices," not quantities.) The world went on a huge ship-building binges a few years ago, and demand didn't expand to meet the new supply (of ships.)

    BTW, that is One of Greece's big problems. A very large part of their GDP is connected to Shipping.

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  21. Roger that Rufus. Understood. Price to ship a ton of iron ore is much lower due to lots of empty ships sitting around the great ports of the world.

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  22. War Powers Act Does Not Apply to Libya, Obama Argues

    New York Times - ‎

    WASHINGTON - The White House is telling Congress that President Obama has the legal authority to continue American participation in the NATO-led air war in Libya, even though lawmakers have not authorized it.

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  23. ... two senior administration lawyers contended that American forces have not been in “hostilities” at least since April 7, when NATO took over leadership in maintaining a no-flight zone in Libya, and the United States took up what is mainly a supporting role — providing surveillance and refueling for allied warplanes — although unmanned drones operated by the United States periodically fire missiles as well.

    They argued that United States forces are at little risk in the operation because there are no American troops on the ground and Libyan forces are unable to exchange meaningful fire with American forces. They said that there was little risk of the military mission escalating, because it is constrained by the United Nations Security Counsel resolution that authorized use of air power to defend civilians.

    “We are not saying the president can take the country into war on his own,” Mr. Koh said. “We are not saying the War Powers Resolution is unconstitutional or should be scrapped, or that we can refuse to consult Congress. We are saying the limited nature of this particular mission is not the kind of ‘hostilities’ envisioned by the War Powers Resolution.”

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  24. (Reuters) - NATO risks sliding into a ground war in Libya and is trying to kill its leader, Muammar Gaddafi, Russia's ambassador to the alliance said on Wednesday.

    Dmitry Rogozin also said the conflict could have dire consequences for Europe by stoking hatred of the West.

    "It is our observation that NATO is sliding down and being dragged more and more into the eventuality of a land-based operation in Libya," he told a news conference during a visit to London.

    Asked if he believed NATO was trying to assassinate Gaddafi, Rogozin said: "Well yes. Your chief of defense has declared Gaddafi's assassination as an eventual target."

    He was apparently referring to a suggestion in March by British Defense Secretary Liam Fox, later contradicted by other officials, that killing Gaddafi was a possible option.

    Rogozin, speaking through an interpreter, said NATO was choosing targets and then declaring them to be legitimate.

    "If Gaddafi or some people close to him sent a fax from some building in Libya, than immediately that building is declared as a military target," he said.

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  25. .

    Today's action offers countervaling evidence against the proposition that oil prices drive the dollar rather than the other way around.

    .

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  26. .

    But good at diggin' camus roots with the women

    I've always found rooting with the women much more satisfying than hunting elk.

    .

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  27. Not so, Q. They were driven by the same thing, today. Recession, and Crisis in Europe.

    The Euro weakened, but so did Brent Crude.

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  28. .

    The dollar rose and oil dropped.

    .

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  29. Gold was up $7.00. Did the "strengthening Dollar" cause Gold to Rise?

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  30. Q, the dollar is down about 15% against the Euro since the inception of the Eurozone currency.

    Oil is up approx. 400%.

    Are you saying a 15% drop in the currency caused a 400% Rise in Oil?

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  31. .

    Are you saying a 15% drop in the currency caused a 400% Rise in Oil?

    No. Not at all.

    I have said all along there are multiple reasons affecting the rise in the price of oil. I've laid them out for you a number of times before.

    What I have also argued against was your view that oil is the only thing effecting every other element of the world economy, the 'prime mover' if you will.

    After my last rather sarcastic attack on your position and after some thought I posted that I would try to be a 'good boy' in our future talks on the subject.

    You see that I have moderated my tone.

    As for gold, it has become more and more the haven in troubled times, a hedge that many suggest everyone should own, a currency unto itself. I would have to check the charts but I suspect there have been days when it goes up whether the dollar is going up or down, whether oil is going up or down.

    .

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  32. One last thing. Gasoline demand is flat YOY, and Diesel Demand is Down 3.6%.

    Now, think about that. We had Growth in the the last six months of last year, and the first quarter of this year, yet gasoline demand is flat, and diesel is significantly Down YOY.

    We're double-dipping, Or I'm a monkey's uncle.

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  33. .

    Or I'm a monkey's uncle.

    I said I was trying to be a good boy but some of these are hard to resist.

    :)

    .

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  34. It Is the prime mover, Q. It's the only thing you can use to make Accurate Predictions.

    You may not like, but it is the One thing that all of our recessions have in common. That's why I have been able to stick with my guns in the face of the Fed, the Pundits, and everyone else.

    Last year I called this recession almost to the day. It was in the fall that I said, this will be the year to "sell in May, and go away."

    Try to find one other person in the Universe that called this recession, Then.

    And, I did it, solely, with oil prices.

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  35. Look, the country is stressed. High unemployment, high underemployment. Falling home prices hindering small business formation, and mobility.

    But, We had all of those things working against us in Jan.

    here's the kicker. A very large segment of our economy is Geared Toward, and Dependent on, Cheap Oil. Bubba don't own a Yaris. He owns a pickup truck. And, his wife's old beater doesn't get the best gas mileage, either. And, they both live 20 miles from work.

    Bubba and his wife are a large part of our population. They live week to week, and are budgeted to a gnat's hair. An extra $169.00/mo, on top of everything else, changes their behvior. Ask Walmart.

    It's the hubris of the "investor" class that they don't need Bubba. but, the "investor class" are idiots. It's Bubba that buys the crap that those companies the "investment class" owns, makes.

    When 50 Million Bubbas, and their wives pull in their horns, it's "fork-time."

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  36. .

    You're a genius Rufus. You should be sitting on a mountain somewhere waiting for pilgrims to come and see you.

    I had never heard that saying 'sell in May and go away' until you mntioned it.

    And I'm sure no one in the Universe was calling or predicting another downturn, not Roubini or any of the other bears, none the of the 'for and against' commentators on CNBC, none of the politicos screaming against FED policy, no one but Rufus.

    You are the Cassandra of our time.

    And you have oil to thank for it.

    Or perhaps it's the ethanol.


    .

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  37. Okay, Q; give me a name.

    Any name, of anyone, who, last fall, said we'd be in recession by Winter of 2011, and that the Stock Market would start sniffing it out (my exact words, I believe) by mid-to-late Spring, and thus, this would be a good year to "sell in May, and go away."

    Just one name.

    And, forget Roubini. He didn't.

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  38. .

    Unless I start googling Rufus, I can't.

    It woul be a waste of my time. If you watch CNBC at all you will know that there have been a constant stream of bears who have been predicting a slowdown because of FED policies and other factors.

    .

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  39. You bring up a good point, though. A Nice Cold Bud Light sounds pretty good. I think I'll go down to the corner, and pick up a six. Later.



    Give you a little time alone with Mr. Google. :)

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  40. And, a lot of them were screaming about the coming "hyper-inflation."

    But, No one specifically gave the call - much less gave the reason "why."


    And, That is probably the most worthwhile thing to ponder. Why?

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  41. .

    As i said, Rufus, you are a genius.

    You have told us so on numerous occasions.

    The fact that much of the world doesn't share that opinion, as you say, hubris and faulty thinking.

    We are lucky to have you here.

    .

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  42. .

    But, No one specifically gave the call - much less gave the reason "why."

    Oh, there were reasons given. Not likely they would give their opinion without a reason for that opinion.

    The fact is, they didn't give The reason why.

    .

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  43. Hey, that's not fair. I never said that.

    I've made a few statements of belief, and I've stuck with them. It just so happens the ones that have been connected to oil, and ethanol have panned out.

    Doug, will be here any minute now to remind us all for the fiftieth time that I completely missed the housing implosion.

    But, I never, ever said anything about bein' a genii.

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  44. The centerpiece of the investigation has been the hundreds of thousands of dollars provided by two wealthy Edwards supporters — Fred Baron, his former campaign finance chairman, and Mellon, the 100-year-old widow of banking heir Paul Mellon.

    Prosecutors said $725,000 from Mellon and $200,000 from Baron was used to pay for Hunter's living and medical expenses and for chartered airfare, luxury hotels and rental of a house in Santa Barbara, Calif., to keep her hidden from the public.

    Prosecutors say because that money went to hide Hunter from the media and voters, that amounted to campaign contributions; Edwards team says the funds were a private matter not connected to the campaign.

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  45. For his part, Norquist claimed victory, saying he had prevented Coburn from tricking his colleagues into voting for a tax increase. At a Capitol Hill meeting Tuesday morning with more than 100 GOP staffers, Norquist said he authorized senators to advance the Coburn measure so long as they also supported a bill by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) to cut the estate tax.

    This strategy, Norquist said, “robbed” Coburn of the opportunity to persuade his Senate colleagues to vote for higher taxes.

    “We won, he lost; he can try again, but he’s not going to get his tax increase,” Norquist said. “Because the House won’t let him have his tax increase, even if he thinks he can get it through the Senate.”

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  46. Bringing the vote on that amendment was a Publicity Stunt, and a sop to his Saudi/Oil co backers.

    Even his co-sponsor, Diane Feinstein (corruptocrat - Ca) asked him not to bring it at this time, and voted against it.

    The reason is, The Deal has done been made. The "Real Bill" is the Thune/Klobuchar Bill that has the support of the majority of the congress, And of all the major Ethanol/Farm Organizations.

    The Thune/Klobuchar Bill, actually, does the same thing. It brings to an end the Ethanol Tax Credit (VEETC) on July 1st, but it saves a small amount of funding for "Cellulosic" Ethanol, Small refineries, and some build-out of the infrastructure (mostly, some blender pumps.)

    Coburn is a psychotic tool.

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  47. The Ethanol Lobby actually wants to get rid of the VEETC. Inasmuch as the Great Majority of the money just goes to the oil companies, anyway it doesn't have much effect on anyone other than the small subset that are trying to promote E85, and they just don't have any "pull."

    By bringing their Own bill the ethnanol lobby can, hopefully, protect a few things that they will need help on in the future (like, corn stover to ethanol.)

    Politics can get hard, sometimes. 'specially when the tea party's all riled up.

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  48. According to the notes of a participant in the session at the National Defense University, General Kayani acknowledged that Pakistan had mortgaged itself to the United States. The participant declined to be identified because people at the session agreed that they would not divulge what was said.

    In making the analogy to Pakistan as a mortgaged house, General Kayani said that if a person gave his house against a loan and was unable to pay back the loan, the mortgage holder would intervene, the participant said. “We are helpless,” General Kayani said, according to the person’s notes.

    “Can we fight America?”


    Fighting To Keep His Job

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  49. U.S. officials say they could continue without Pakistan’s cooperation, launching the drones out of bases in Afghanistan. But there is a fear that the instability and high feelings in Pakistan could provoke an even more extreme public and military backlash.

    Even before the current tensions, Pakistan criticized the program, expanded by the Obama administration to nearly 120 strikes last year, for targeting too many low- and mid-level militants rather than high-level commanders. The Americans, a senior Pakistani military official said, are fixated on drones and use them as indiscriminately as “a rifle bullet.”

    The most recent drone strikes took place Wednesday in North and South Waziristan in the tribal areas, where local officials said 15 militants were killed.


    Lowest Point Since '01

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