Hackers in 2016 stole 2 billion rubles — equivalent to $31 million — from accounts that banks keep at Russia’s central bank. …read more
Source: Hacks at Russian central bank have cost 2 billion rubles
By Tyler Durden
Following yesterday’s unexpected phone call between Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen and President-elect Trump, which broke with decades of foreign policy norms resulting from Washington’s official “One China” stance….
NEW PHOTO: Taiwan releases photo of President Tsai Ing-wen, center, speaking with Trump during controversial call https://t.co/Gt2CAiKH7K pic.twitter.com/RoLIjWlYML
— ABC News (@ABC) December 3, 2016
… and which spooked numerous foreign policy pundits, concerned that China would see the call as a hostile act by the Trump team and lead to a material deterioration in US-China relations, which also prompted Trump to take to twitter on Friday night to explain that he did not initiate the call but was merely responding to good wishes from the president of Taiwan…
The President of Taiwan CALLED ME today to wish me congratulations on winning the Presidency. Thank you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 3, 2016
….and further poked the hypocrisy of the US establishment by saying “Interesting how the U.S. sells Taiwan billions of dollars of military equipment but I should not accept a congratulatory call” in a follow up tweet…
Interesting how the U.S. sells Taiwan billions of dollars of military equipment but I should not accept a congratulatory call.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 3, 2016
… China responded on Saturday morning in two ways.
First, as Xinhua writes in its English edition, it “lodged solemn representations with the United States, urging the latter to honor its commitment to the one-China policy, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said on Saturday.”
“It must be stated that, there is only one China and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory, and the government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legitimate government that represents China. Those are all facts recognized by the international community,” Geng said. The one-China principle is the political foundation for the China-U.S. relations, Geng said.
The White House on Friday reaffirmed backing for its long-standing support of the one-China policy and the three China-U.S. joint communiques. “We remain firmly committed to our one-China policy based on the three joint communiques,” White House National Security Council spokesperson Ned Price told local media. “Our fundamental interest is in peaceful and stable cross-strait relations.”
Geng also urged “relevant parties in the US to honor the commitment to the one-China policy as well as the three Sino-U.S. joint communiques, and to handle Taiwan-related issues with caution and care to avoid unnecessarily interfering with the overall situation of Sino-US relations.” That was interpreted as a direct warning to Trump to be careful while observing international diplomatic protocol, especially when China is involved.
According to AFP, it was not immediately clear whether Trump’s telephone call with Tsai Ing-wen marked a deliberate pivot away from Washington’s official “One China” stance, but it fuelled fears he is improvising on international affairs. China added that the one-China principle is a cornerstone for healthy development of Sino-U.S. relations, and China does not want this political foundation to be interfered with …read more
Source: Crisis Averted: China Calls Taiwan Phone Call A "Gimmick" As It Lodges Diplomatic Protest
Carrier confirms 300 of the 1,100 jobs “saved” in deal with Trump were never at risk of moving to Mexico, and that 600 of its jobs are still going south of border. …read more
Source: Trump didn’t save as many jobs as he claimed
Carrier confirms 300 of the 1,100 jobs “saved” in deal with Trump were never at risk of moving to Mexico, and that 600 of its jobs are still going south of border. …read more
Source: Trump didn’t save as many jobs as he claimed
By Tyler Durden
For months we’ve been warning that real estate markets in NYC and San Francisco, among others, are getting ready to rollover as the market is about to be flooded with new supply of luxury apartments (see here and here). Real estate in both markets are just starting to show signs of cracking as the apartments sales cycle is getting stretched out and pricing growth has stalled.
Now, per an article from the Wall Street Journal, wealthy Chinese real estate investors are admitting that the jig is up in large cities like New York and are running for the hills. With a substantial amount of capacity expected to come online over the next several quarters and a growth cycle that is entering its 8th year, one Chinese real estate investor admits “you get a sense now that it’s peaking.”
Swelling supply of high-end New York condominiums could result in losses for some Chinese developers, analysts said. A push to partner with U.S. developers on other projects, meanwhile, has brought unexpected legal spats and other delays.
“I see a danger in the real-estate market in the U.S.,” said John Liang, Xinyuan Real Estate’s managing director of U.S. operations. “With its seven- to eight-year cycle, you get a sense now that it’s peaking.” He added that he sees value in middle-tier residential properties in Manhattan and Queens.
“Right now the prices are really high,” said Zhang Xin, chief executive of Soho China, whose family invested in a stake in Manhattan’s General Motors Building in 2013. “I would be very cautious if I were to make a large investment in New York’s real estate today.”
Of course, Manhattan isn’t the only Burrough experiencing a supply glut. Forest City Realty was just forced to take a $300mm impairment charge on a joint venture with a Shanghai-based development company after “unprecedented rental supply in downtown Brooklyn” forced the copanies to delay development.
CL Investment, which has three other high-end residential projects in Manhattan, plans to keep the office space as part of efforts to diversify, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
In Brooklyn, N.Y., a deal between Shanghai-based, state-owned conglomerate Greenland Holding Group and Forest City Realty Trust on a 22-acre, 15-building mixed-use project in various stages of construction is facing stiff headwinds.
Forest City earlier this month said it took a $307.6 million impairment charge for the project, called Pacific Park Brooklyn, and said it plans “to delay future vertical development.”
“We revised the schedule due to a number of factors, including almost unprecedented concentrations of new rental supply in downtown Brooklyn, which will take time for the market to absorb,” said Forest City CEO David LaRue.
Just to add insult to injury, the softening real estate market is coming just as China is once again looking to tighten rules on capital investments outside of China.
The headwinds come at a time when Beijing once again is planning to tighten its rules on Chinese investment capital leaving …read more
Source: Chinese Developers Rethink U.S. Real Estate Projects: "I See Danger…U.S. Real Estate Is Peaking"
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By Tyler Durden
Authored by William Blum, originally posted at Strategic-Culture.org,
On November 16, at a State Department press briefing, department spokesperson John Kirby was having one of his frequent adversarial dialogues with Gayane Chichakyan, a reporter for RT (Russia Today); this time concerning U.S. charges of Russia bombing hospitals in Syria and blocking the U.N. from delivering aid to the trapped population.
When Chichakyan asked for some detail about these charges, Kirby replied: “Why don’t you ask your defense ministry?”
GC: Do you – can you give any specific information on when Russia or the Syrian Government blocked the UN from delivering aid? Just any specific information.
KIRBY: There hasn’t been any aid delivered in the last month.
GC: And you believe it was blocked exclusively by Russia and the Syrian Government?
KIRBY: There’s no question in our mind that the obstruction is coming from the regime and from Russia. No question at all.…
MATTHEW LEE (Associated Press): Let me –- hold on, just let me say: Please be careful about saying “your defense minister” and things like that. I mean, she’s a journalist just like the rest of us are, so it’s -– she’s asking pointed questions, but they’re not –
KIRBY: From a state-owned -– from a state-owned –
LEE: But they’re not –
KIRBY: From a state-owned outlet, Matt.
LEE: But they’re not –
KIRBY: From a state-owned outlet that’s not independent.
LEE: The questions that she’s asking are not out of line.
KIRBY: I didn’t say the questions were out of line…
KIRBY: I’m sorry, but I’m not going to put Russia Today on the same level with the rest of you who are representing independent media outlets.
One has to wonder if State Department spokesperson Kirby knows that in 2011 Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, speaking about RT, declared: “The Russians have opened an English-language network. I’ve seen it in a few countries, and it is quite instructive.”
I also wonder how Mr. Kirby deals with reporters from the BBC, a STATE-OWNED television and radio entity in the U.K., broadcasting in the U.S. and all around the world.
Or the state-owned Australian Broadcasting Corporation, described by Wikipedia as follows: “The corporation provides television, radio, online and mobile services throughout metropolitan and regional Australia, as well as overseas… and is well regarded for quality and reliability as well as for offering educational and cultural programming that the commercial sector would be unlikely to supply on its own.”
There’s also Radio Free Europe, Radio Free Asia, Radio Liberty (Central/Eastern Europe), and Radio Marti (Cuba); all (U.S.) state-owned, none “independent”, but all deemed worthy enough by the United States to feed to the world.
And let’s not forget what Americans have at home: PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) and NPR (National Public Radio), which would have a near-impossible time surviving without large federal government grants. How independent does this leave them? Has either broadcaster ever unequivocally opposed a modern American war? There’s good reason NPR has long been known as National Pentagon Radio. But it’s part …read more
Source: Official Washington’s "Info-Wars"
By Tyler Durden
Submitted by Jason Ditz via AntiWar.com,
Continuing the debate over a massive expansion of the Selective Service, the White House today announced that President Obama is in favor of expanding registration for the military draft to include all women when they turn 18.
“As old barriers for military service are being removed, the administration supports — as a logical next step — women registering for the Selective Service,” said Ned Price, a spokesman for Obama's National Security Council.
The White House had previously expressed neutrality on the controversy, but took a position in a statement to USA TODAY on Thursday.
Under current law, women can volunteer to serve in the military but aren't required to register for the draft. All adult men must register within 30 days of their 18th birthday.
The announcement comes ahead of a planned House vote on a bill to study the expansion of the military draft, or to potentially eliminate the Selective Service outright. The White House has repeatedly insisted they have no plans to bring the draft back, but want to force everyone to register anyhow to “foster a sense of public service.”
The measure had roiled social conservatives, who decried it as another step toward the blurring of gender lines akin to allowing transgender people to use public lavatories and locker rooms. Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, spoke for a number of Republicans when he described the provision as “coercing America's daughters” into draft registration.
But proponents of including women in the draft pool viewed the requirement as a sensible step toward gender equality. They pointed to the Pentagon's decision last year to open all front-line combat jobs to women as removing any justification for gender restrictions on registration.
The administration opened all combat roles to women, and officials say they believe expanding the registration system is a “logical next step,” ensuring “gender equality” in forcing the public to register for potential conscription in future wars.
Though there is some call from some in Congress to do away with the Selective Service system entirely as an unused relic of the past, there appears to be considerable support for keeping it in place despite its practical uselessness, simply on the grounds that it doesn’t cost that much.
The Selective Service system was eliminated by President Ford in 1975, two years after the last conscription lottery. President Carter brought the system back in 1980 as part of a show of hostility toward the Soviet Union over the invasion of Afghanistan. The system has remained in place ever since, even though the Soviet occupation ended, the Soviet Union fell, and the US has been occupying Afghanistan themselves for the last 15 years.
Source: Obama Supports Forcing Women To Register For Military Draft
By The_Real_Fly
Nothing to see here. The girls at CNN were merely fraternizing, joking it up about the President elect’s airplane crashing. If you listen closely, one of the catamites caught giggling said he’d only be injured, not killed, so there’s that.
Hot mics are a bitch and so is the person who made these comments.
Content originally generated at iBankCoin.com
Source: CNN Caught in Locker Room Talk; Crew Jokes About Trump’s Plane Crashing
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