Russia Is Concerned About America's Far-Off Space Weapons

Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2. Image: DARPA/War Is Boring This story originally appeared on War Is Boring. In a near-future war, 1,000 missiles scream toward Russia at Mach 20. Each one a pinpoint strike hitting the Kremlin’s nuclear missiles, military radars, submarine bases—you name it. Within minutes, 80 percent of Russia’s nuclear arsenal is destroyed without the United States launching a single nuclear weapon of its own. Russia’s military...

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Dramatic aerial shots of devastating Chile quake

Apocalyptic images showing the impact of the 8.3 magnitude earthquake that struck Chile and killed 12 are staggeringly similar to photos from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, which killed almost 16,000. The quake was felt as far away as Buenos Aires, Argentina. Authorities issued a tsunami alert for Chile’s entire Pacific coast.   A series of aftershocks, including one measuring 7.0 magnitude and three above 6, shook Chile following Wednesday’s...

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IVF Embryos to be Genetically Manipulated as Scientists Investigate Repeated Miscarriages

If the research licence is granted by the Government’s fertility watchdog it will be only the second known occasion in the world where the chromosomes of human embryos have been genetically manipulated using a revolutionary gene-editing technique called Crispr/Cas9. When Chinese scientists announced earlier this year that they had genetically altered “spare” human IVF embryos using Crispr/Cas9 for research purposes, there was deep concern among...

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Bank Of England Economist Calls For Cash Ban, Urges Negative Rates

So Haldane has gone from worrying that "financial markets were detaching themselves too materially from fundamentals" and fearing the "biggest risk to global financial stability right now it would be a disorderly reversion in the yields of government bonds globally," the BoE's chief economist has not only called for policies which will enable an even bigger bond bubble but will also remove freedom from the people to do what 'they' think is best...

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Brawl Breaks Out in Japanese Parliament Over “War Bill”

What do you get when you cross a collapsing economy with a government determined to pass a bill to make overseas military conflicts easier? You get this: Yep, this is what transpired overnight as tensions flared over the controversial “War Bill,” which Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is determined to pass in the face of public opposition. I covered this story last month in the post, Unusually Massive Protests Erupt in Japan Against Forthcoming...

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Meanwhile, In Burkina Faso: Images From A West Africa Military Coup

In October of last year, Blaise Compaoré stepped down after nearly three decades as President of the West African nation of Burkina Faso amid a popular uprising that some likened (in spirit anyway) to the protests that defined the Arab Spring. On Thursday, October 30, Compaoré sought to pass legislation that would have paved the way for a new 5-year term. Here's how WSJ describes what happened next:     That ambition...

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Assad Goes On Offense, Bombs ISIS "Capital", Deploys New Russian Weapons

Now that Moscow has officially confirmed that Russian boots are on the ground at Latakia and that the Kremlin is actively ramping up its technical and logistical support for the Assad regime, one point we've been keen to drive home is that rebels, "freedom fighters", and marauding, black flag-waving jihadists alike will now have a much tougher time routing government forces and taking control of the country. After all, battling Assad's depleted...

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Meanwhile, In Burkina Faso: Images From A West Africa Military Coup

Now that Moscow has officially confirmed that Russian boots are on the ground at Latakia and that the Kremlin is actively ramping up its technical and logistical support for the Assad regime, one point we've been keen to drive home is that rebels, "freedom fighters", and marauding, black flag-waving jihadists alike will now have a much tougher time routing government forces and taking control of the country. After all, battling Assad's depleted...

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