E-Bomb: The Electronic Weapon That Can Make a Plane "Disappear" *Videos*
E-Bomb: The Electronic Weapon That Can Make a Plane “Disappear” *Videos*.
|
Over a dozen nations have now mobilized search teams for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. The mysterious disappearance has left investigators all over the world wondering what could have happened. This is a huge investigation, as evidenced by the fact that China has re-tasked ten satellites to search for the wreckage, suggesting that the People’s Republic really wants to get to the bottom of what happened here.
There is no debris to be found. The black box, which is supposed to be indestructible in a large explosion and should broadcast a homing signal for up to 30 days, has gone dark. Moreover, INTERPOL is looking into several passengers who boarded the plane using false passports, and whose tickets were reportedly purchased by an unknown Iranian benefactor.
Several theories have emerged as to what could have caused the flight to “vanish” out of thin air. None of them are, as of yet, conclusive.
We can probably rule out a mid-air explosion, because something like that would likely have left instruments operational for long enough that readings would have been transmitted back to flight controllers. Likewise, there would be a fairly wide debris field had such an explosion occurred at such a high altitude.
Terrorism has not been ruled out, but traditional methods, including a hi-jacking, seem unlikely (remember those reinforced cockpit doors?).
It is certainly possible that search teams are just looking in the wrong place and the plane could be found in coming hours or days.
However, as noted by Mike Adams, the idea of an advanced military weapon of some sort is certainly within the realm of possibility. We know our Defense Department, as well as the militaries of other countries, are always hard at work developing new war-making technologies.
One such advanced weapons system has come to public light in recent years and as recently as two days prior to the disappearance of flight 370 Senator Ted Cruz mentioned it in a followup to his CPAC speech:
“When Iran describes Israel as the Little Satan, and America as the Great Satan, we have every interest to make sure they don’t acquire the weaponry to kill millions of Americans.” Cruz imagined a nightmare scenario in which Iran detonated a bomb over “Tel Aviv or New York or Los Angeles.” Detonated here, the effects of an EMP attack could kill “tens of millions of Americans.”
We know for a fact that China, North Korea, Russia and the United States have developed what are dubbed Super-EMP Weapons. These types of weapons require nuclear fuel and must be detonated over or near the target area. The secondary effect of this nuclear detonation is an electro-magnetic pulse. Deployed properly, for example 200 miles over the state of Kansas, such a weapon could literally wipe out every electronic system from coast to coast.
It is this possibility that prompted investigators to contact the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organisation yesterday, so they understand that this could well be the type of weapons used.
Experts at Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty have been asked to see if they detected an explosion at high altitude of the missing Malaysian Airlines plane.
Lassina Zerbo, executive director of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO) told a news conference the organisation used “infrasound” – or infrasonic sensors – to monitor the earth mainly for atmospheric nuclear explosions. (source)
More than likely, the infrasound tests won’t yield any result. For starters, it would be quite difficult to sneak a suit-case nuclear weapon onto an airplane. Second, a space or air explosion would have quickly been detected by military monitoring systems operated by the U.S., China and Russia.
The other possibility is one that is often not discussed, yet has emerged as a highly effective military system in recent years. This involves the use of a non-nuclear electro magentic pulse weapon.
Weapons designers specializing in high-energy physics can now create electromagnetic pulses without going into outer space. One approach involves harnessing the force of a conventional explosion. Others are simply just modifications of radar, which bounces pulses of energy off aircraft in flight, vehicles on the ground, and other objects.
Crank up the power and you have an EMP weapon, ready to point at the computers of your favorite enemy.This knowledge has set off a new arms race. Whether fitted into cruise missiles or parked at the side of the road in a van, non-nuclear EMP weapons have the potential to devastate the electronic systems of areas as large as a city or as small as a selected building, all without being seen, heard, or felt by a single soul.
It is a dream come true for any and all terrorists.
Sound far-fetched? It did not in 1993 to the owners of automobiles parked about 300 meters from a U.S. Defense Contractor’s EMP generator test site at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. Their alternators and electronic engine controls were accidentally fried by a pulse during classified field trials.
The following provides an explanation for how these weapons work. What we know about the Flight 370 disaster suggests that if this was an act of terrorism it could have been executed using a NNEMP:
NNEMP generators can be carried as a payload of bombs, cruise missiles (such as the CHAMP missile) and drones, with diminished mechanical, thermal and ionizing radiation effects, but without the political consequences of deploying nuclear weapons.
…
The electromagnetic pulse from NNEMP weapons must come from within the weapon, while nuclear weapons generate EMP as a secondary effect. These facts limit the range of NNEMP weapons, but allow finer target discrimination. The effect of small e-bombs has proven to be sufficient for certain terrorist or military operations. Examples of such operations include the destruction of electronic control systems critical to the operation of many ground vehicles and aircraft.
We know for a fact that these e-bombs have been built and tested by our own military. Unlike nuclear-based EMP weapons, these devices can be small and compact versions can actually be created with basic Do-It-Yourself kits. They can be deployed on drones, planes and missiles. They can be specifically targeted at cities, buildings or even vehicles. Thus, it is possible that such a device was used to take down Flight 370.
For the skeptics out there, watch the following video of a do-it-yourself homemade e-bomb being used to short-circuit a cell phone:
In this video, another homemade e-bomb is used to disable various electronics. Note that the rudimentary device looks to have an effective range of roughly 10 – 15 yards:
Now consider what a rogue terror organization or black ops team could do with a multi-million dollar budget.
Harping back to the Iranian connection, is it possible that a small capacity non-nuclear EMP weapon was smuggled on board the airplane, perhaps in common electronic devices, and triggered mid-flight?
That an unknown man named “Ali” purchased tickets for his friends at the last minute to the cheapest destination available, is highly suspect and is indicative of terrorism. An incident involving a man with a similar profile occurred at Amsterdam airport when the Christmas underwear bomber was allowed onto the plane – without a passport.
We’re not necessarily suggesting Iran is behind this, but it sure is an easy story to sell.
Insofar as the effects themselves, a non-nuclear EMP could well explain how a plane, from one second to the next, simply vanishes without a trace.
- There would be no large debris field because the plane would have fallen right out of the sky, so instead of a search area of square miles, we’d be looking at mere yards, a difficult find in a huge ocean.
- The homing device on the black box, which as far as we can tell is not shielded against an EMP blast, would, just as the planes instrumentation and communications equipment, short circuit and become inoperable.
- No explosions or missile signature would have been detected by monitoring systems
While this theory is far from conclusive, it makes as much sense as any being proposed.
If this was the kind of weapon used, then it could have been a “dry run” for something much bigger, like a coordinated attack involving many more planes in the future.
Or, as highlighted by American Everyman, we can just go with the official story per the mainstream media:
So, right on cue, in the absence of a logical thesis, the mainstream media along with “high ranking unnamed sources” are starting to float ridiculousness as the solution.
Officials investigating the disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines jetliner with 239 people on board suspect it may have disintegrated in mid-flight, a senior source said on Sunday, as Vietnam reported a possible sighting of wreckage from the plane. Reuters
Yes, there you have it, it may have just vaporized itself in mid-air for no apparent reason.
Vaporized? Gone? Nothing remained of this 600,000 pound jumbo jet?
The notion that an e-bomb was responsible is much more likely than vaporization.
And that is a much more terrifying thought to consider.
E-Bomb: The Electronic Weapon That Can Make a Plane “Disappear” *Videos*
E-Bomb: The Electronic Weapon That Can Make a Plane “Disappear” *Videos*.
|
Over a dozen nations have now mobilized search teams for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. The mysterious disappearance has left investigators all over the world wondering what could have happened. This is a huge investigation, as evidenced by the fact that China has re-tasked ten satellites to search for the wreckage, suggesting that the People’s Republic really wants to get to the bottom of what happened here.
There is no debris to be found. The black box, which is supposed to be indestructible in a large explosion and should broadcast a homing signal for up to 30 days, has gone dark. Moreover, INTERPOL is looking into several passengers who boarded the plane using false passports, and whose tickets were reportedly purchased by an unknown Iranian benefactor.
Several theories have emerged as to what could have caused the flight to “vanish” out of thin air. None of them are, as of yet, conclusive.
We can probably rule out a mid-air explosion, because something like that would likely have left instruments operational for long enough that readings would have been transmitted back to flight controllers. Likewise, there would be a fairly wide debris field had such an explosion occurred at such a high altitude.
Terrorism has not been ruled out, but traditional methods, including a hi-jacking, seem unlikely (remember those reinforced cockpit doors?).
It is certainly possible that search teams are just looking in the wrong place and the plane could be found in coming hours or days.
However, as noted by Mike Adams, the idea of an advanced military weapon of some sort is certainly within the realm of possibility. We know our Defense Department, as well as the militaries of other countries, are always hard at work developing new war-making technologies.
One such advanced weapons system has come to public light in recent years and as recently as two days prior to the disappearance of flight 370 Senator Ted Cruz mentioned it in a followup to his CPAC speech:
“When Iran describes Israel as the Little Satan, and America as the Great Satan, we have every interest to make sure they don’t acquire the weaponry to kill millions of Americans.” Cruz imagined a nightmare scenario in which Iran detonated a bomb over “Tel Aviv or New York or Los Angeles.” Detonated here, the effects of an EMP attack could kill “tens of millions of Americans.”
We know for a fact that China, North Korea, Russia and the United States have developed what are dubbed Super-EMP Weapons. These types of weapons require nuclear fuel and must be detonated over or near the target area. The secondary effect of this nuclear detonation is an electro-magnetic pulse. Deployed properly, for example 200 miles over the state of Kansas, such a weapon could literally wipe out every electronic system from coast to coast.
It is this possibility that prompted investigators to contact the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organisation yesterday, so they understand that this could well be the type of weapons used.
Experts at Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty have been asked to see if they detected an explosion at high altitude of the missing Malaysian Airlines plane.
Lassina Zerbo, executive director of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO) told a news conference the organisation used “infrasound” – or infrasonic sensors – to monitor the earth mainly for atmospheric nuclear explosions. (source)
More than likely, the infrasound tests won’t yield any result. For starters, it would be quite difficult to sneak a suit-case nuclear weapon onto an airplane. Second, a space or air explosion would have quickly been detected by military monitoring systems operated by the U.S., China and Russia.
The other possibility is one that is often not discussed, yet has emerged as a highly effective military system in recent years. This involves the use of a non-nuclear electro magentic pulse weapon.
Weapons designers specializing in high-energy physics can now create electromagnetic pulses without going into outer space. One approach involves harnessing the force of a conventional explosion. Others are simply just modifications of radar, which bounces pulses of energy off aircraft in flight, vehicles on the ground, and other objects.
Crank up the power and you have an EMP weapon, ready to point at the computers of your favorite enemy.This knowledge has set off a new arms race. Whether fitted into cruise missiles or parked at the side of the road in a van, non-nuclear EMP weapons have the potential to devastate the electronic systems of areas as large as a city or as small as a selected building, all without being seen, heard, or felt by a single soul.
It is a dream come true for any and all terrorists.
Sound far-fetched? It did not in 1993 to the owners of automobiles parked about 300 meters from a U.S. Defense Contractor’s EMP generator test site at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. Their alternators and electronic engine controls were accidentally fried by a pulse during classified field trials.
The following provides an explanation for how these weapons work. What we know about the Flight 370 disaster suggests that if this was an act of terrorism it could have been executed using a NNEMP:
NNEMP generators can be carried as a payload of bombs, cruise missiles (such as the CHAMP missile) and drones, with diminished mechanical, thermal and ionizing radiation effects, but without the political consequences of deploying nuclear weapons.
…
The electromagnetic pulse from NNEMP weapons must come from within the weapon, while nuclear weapons generate EMP as a secondary effect. These facts limit the range of NNEMP weapons, but allow finer target discrimination. The effect of small e-bombs has proven to be sufficient for certain terrorist or military operations. Examples of such operations include the destruction of electronic control systems critical to the operation of many ground vehicles and aircraft.
We know for a fact that these e-bombs have been built and tested by our own military. Unlike nuclear-based EMP weapons, these devices can be small and compact versions can actually be created with basic Do-It-Yourself kits. They can be deployed on drones, planes and missiles. They can be specifically targeted at cities, buildings or even vehicles. Thus, it is possible that such a device was used to take down Flight 370.
For the skeptics out there, watch the following video of a do-it-yourself homemade e-bomb being used to short-circuit a cell phone:
In this video, another homemade e-bomb is used to disable various electronics. Note that the rudimentary device looks to have an effective range of roughly 10 – 15 yards:
Now consider what a rogue terror organization or black ops team could do with a multi-million dollar budget.
Harping back to the Iranian connection, is it possible that a small capacity non-nuclear EMP weapon was smuggled on board the airplane, perhaps in common electronic devices, and triggered mid-flight?
That an unknown man named “Ali” purchased tickets for his friends at the last minute to the cheapest destination available, is highly suspect and is indicative of terrorism. An incident involving a man with a similar profile occurred at Amsterdam airport when the Christmas underwear bomber was allowed onto the plane – without a passport.
We’re not necessarily suggesting Iran is behind this, but it sure is an easy story to sell.
Insofar as the effects themselves, a non-nuclear EMP could well explain how a plane, from one second to the next, simply vanishes without a trace.
- There would be no large debris field because the plane would have fallen right out of the sky, so instead of a search area of square miles, we’d be looking at mere yards, a difficult find in a huge ocean.
- The homing device on the black box, which as far as we can tell is not shielded against an EMP blast, would, just as the planes instrumentation and communications equipment, short circuit and become inoperable.
- No explosions or missile signature would have been detected by monitoring systems
While this theory is far from conclusive, it makes as much sense as any being proposed.
If this was the kind of weapon used, then it could have been a “dry run” for something much bigger, like a coordinated attack involving many more planes in the future.
Or, as highlighted by American Everyman, we can just go with the official story per the mainstream media:
So, right on cue, in the absence of a logical thesis, the mainstream media along with “high ranking unnamed sources” are starting to float ridiculousness as the solution.
Officials investigating the disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines jetliner with 239 people on board suspect it may have disintegrated in mid-flight, a senior source said on Sunday, as Vietnam reported a possible sighting of wreckage from the plane. Reuters
Yes, there you have it, it may have just vaporized itself in mid-air for no apparent reason.
Vaporized? Gone? Nothing remained of this 600,000 pound jumbo jet?
The notion that an e-bomb was responsible is much more likely than vaporization.
And that is a much more terrifying thought to consider.
Richard Heinberg: Why The Oil 'Revolution' Story Is Dead Wrong | Peak Prosperity
Richard Heinberg: Why The Oil ‘Revolution’ Story Is Dead Wrong | Peak Prosperity.
Richard Heinberg: The Oil ‘Revolution’ Story Is Dead Wrong
With all the grandiosity of the media headlines touting our destiny as the new “Saudi America”, many pundits have been quick to pronounce Peak Oil dead.
Here at PeakProsperity.com, one of the most frequent questions we’ve received over the past two years is: will the increased production from new “tight” oil sources indeed solve our liquid fuels emergency?
Not at all, say Chris and this week’s podcast guest, Richard Heinberg. Both are fellows at the Post Carbon Institute, and you are about to hear one of the most important and most lucid deconstructions of the false promise of American energy independence:
I recently went back and reread the first edition of The Party’s Over because it was the tenth year anniversary. And I was actually a little surprised to see what it really says. My forecasts in The Party’s Over were really based on the work of two veteran petroleum geologists—Colin Campbell and Jean Laherrère. So they were saying back before 2003, because it published in 2003, so it was actually written in 2001 and 2002. So they were saying back in 2000 and 2001 that we would see a peak in conventional oil around 2005—check—that that would cause oil prices to bump higher—check—which would cause a slowdown in economic growth—check. But it would also incentivize production of unconventional oil in various forms—check—which would then peak around 2015, which is basically almost where we are right now and all the signs are suggesting that that is going to be a check-off, too. So amazing enough, these two guys got it perfectly correct fifteen years ago.
The big news right now is that the industry needs prices higher than the economy will allow, as you just outlined. So we are seeing the major oil companies cutting back on capital expenditure in upstream projects, which will undoubtedly have an impact a year or two down the line in terms of lower oil production. That is why I think that Campbell and Laherrère were right on in saying 2015, 2016 maybe, we will also start to see the rapid increase of production from the Bakken and the Eagle Ford here in the US start to flatten out. And probably within a year or two after that, we will see a commencement of a rapid decline.
So you know, on a net basis, taking all those things into account, I think we are probably pretty likely to see global oil production start to head south in the next year or two.
But this change in capital expenditure by the majors, that is a new story. You know, just a couple of years ago, they needed oil prices around $100 a barrel in order to justify upstream investments. That is no longer true. Now they need something like $120 a barrel but the economy cannot stand prices that high. So you know, if the price starts to go up a little bit, then demand just falls back. People start driving less. And so the economy is unable to deliver oil prices to the industry that the industry needs. I think Gail Tverberg is saying this is the beginning of the end. I think she’s right.
If we [continue along with our current policies and dependence on petroleum] then everything will eventually change — as a result of the economy coming apart, the debt bubble bursts, you know, agriculture declines because of the expense of oil and because of depletion of topsoil and because you cannot trust the weather anymore. And we have a very dystopian future if we do not do anything.
So it has never been more important for the average person to understand energy issues than it is right now. But I doubt if there has ever been a time when energy issues have been so deliberately confused by the people who should be explaining it to us.
Click the play button below to listen to Chris’ interview with Richard Heinberg (49m:43s):
Chris Martenson: Welcome to this Peak Prosperity podcast. I am your host, Chris Martenson, and today, I am really excited to introduce a man who needs no introduction, Richard Heinberg, author, educator, speaker, writer now of eleven books including Party’s Over, the one that got me started on the peak oil story, The End of Growth, and Snake Oil: How Fracking’s False Promise of Plenty Imperils Our Future.
Richard Heinberg: Try say that fast five times.
Chris Martenson: [Laugh] I did, and that is the best I could do [laughter]. Welcome, Richard.
Richard Heinberg: Good to be with you, … read more
ABOUT THE GUEST
Richard Heinberg: Why The Oil ‘Revolution’ Story Is Dead Wrong | Peak Prosperity
Richard Heinberg: Why The Oil ‘Revolution’ Story Is Dead Wrong | Peak Prosperity.
Richard Heinberg: The Oil ‘Revolution’ Story Is Dead Wrong
With all the grandiosity of the media headlines touting our destiny as the new “Saudi America”, many pundits have been quick to pronounce Peak Oil dead.
Here at PeakProsperity.com, one of the most frequent questions we’ve received over the past two years is: will the increased production from new “tight” oil sources indeed solve our liquid fuels emergency?
Not at all, say Chris and this week’s podcast guest, Richard Heinberg. Both are fellows at the Post Carbon Institute, and you are about to hear one of the most important and most lucid deconstructions of the false promise of American energy independence:
I recently went back and reread the first edition of The Party’s Over because it was the tenth year anniversary. And I was actually a little surprised to see what it really says. My forecasts in The Party’s Over were really based on the work of two veteran petroleum geologists—Colin Campbell and Jean Laherrère. So they were saying back before 2003, because it published in 2003, so it was actually written in 2001 and 2002. So they were saying back in 2000 and 2001 that we would see a peak in conventional oil around 2005—check—that that would cause oil prices to bump higher—check—which would cause a slowdown in economic growth—check. But it would also incentivize production of unconventional oil in various forms—check—which would then peak around 2015, which is basically almost where we are right now and all the signs are suggesting that that is going to be a check-off, too. So amazing enough, these two guys got it perfectly correct fifteen years ago.
The big news right now is that the industry needs prices higher than the economy will allow, as you just outlined. So we are seeing the major oil companies cutting back on capital expenditure in upstream projects, which will undoubtedly have an impact a year or two down the line in terms of lower oil production. That is why I think that Campbell and Laherrère were right on in saying 2015, 2016 maybe, we will also start to see the rapid increase of production from the Bakken and the Eagle Ford here in the US start to flatten out. And probably within a year or two after that, we will see a commencement of a rapid decline.
So you know, on a net basis, taking all those things into account, I think we are probably pretty likely to see global oil production start to head south in the next year or two.
But this change in capital expenditure by the majors, that is a new story. You know, just a couple of years ago, they needed oil prices around $100 a barrel in order to justify upstream investments. That is no longer true. Now they need something like $120 a barrel but the economy cannot stand prices that high. So you know, if the price starts to go up a little bit, then demand just falls back. People start driving less. And so the economy is unable to deliver oil prices to the industry that the industry needs. I think Gail Tverberg is saying this is the beginning of the end. I think she’s right.
If we [continue along with our current policies and dependence on petroleum] then everything will eventually change — as a result of the economy coming apart, the debt bubble bursts, you know, agriculture declines because of the expense of oil and because of depletion of topsoil and because you cannot trust the weather anymore. And we have a very dystopian future if we do not do anything.
So it has never been more important for the average person to understand energy issues than it is right now. But I doubt if there has ever been a time when energy issues have been so deliberately confused by the people who should be explaining it to us.
Click the play button below to listen to Chris’ interview with Richard Heinberg (49m:43s):
Chris Martenson: Welcome to this Peak Prosperity podcast. I am your host, Chris Martenson, and today, I am really excited to introduce a man who needs no introduction, Richard Heinberg, author, educator, speaker, writer now of eleven books including Party’s Over, the one that got me started on the peak oil story, The End of Growth, and Snake Oil: How Fracking’s False Promise of Plenty Imperils Our Future.
Richard Heinberg: Try say that fast five times.
Chris Martenson: [Laugh] I did, and that is the best I could do [laughter]. Welcome, Richard.
Richard Heinberg: Good to be with you, … read more
ABOUT THE GUEST
Peak Oil: A Peek At The Data – Peak Oil Matters
Peak Oil: A Peek At The Data – Peak Oil Matters.
An observation worth noting … and pondering, from Dr. Nafeez Ahmed (quoting Lieutenant Colonel Daniel L. Davis):
‘We put the event [Transatlantic Energy Security Dialogue conference] together because the prevailing idea that we have a bright future of increasing oil and gas production that can sustain our current way of life indefinitely is based on a selective appraisal of the data. We brought together experts from across the spectrum, and with a wide range of opinions, to have a comprehensive look at all the relevant data. When you only look at certain things, like the very real resurgence of US oil and gas production, the picture looks fine. But when you dig deeper into the data, it becomes clear that this is only part of the picture. And the big picture proves that our current course cannot continue without significant risks.’
Who knew?
Just when you think we’re up to our eyeballs in vast abundance of energy independence (or something like that), some other big-shot full of evidence and facts has to do a quick script edit, and we go from the deny-everything-about-peak-oil crowd’s “Nothing to Worry About, Just Trust Us” fairy tale to the sobering, chock full of reality “Here Are Some Facts, Trust Them First” story.
So close….
Who woulda thunk that ignoring the higher expenses, greater technological needs, diminished energy efficiencies, greater energy inputs, rapid depletion rates, environmental and health considerations—among other items—was something that could not and should not continue indefinitely? All this Happy Talk, and now it seems that we actually have to pay attention to facts and evidence.
What a huge disappointment. It continues to amaze me how different a story can turn out when results depend on the facts rather than scrubbed, fanciful versions.
It almost makes one wonder what is gained—and lost—when those who know choose not to tell those who don’t.
~ My Photo: Corona del Mar, CA – 02.16.14
* I invite you to view my other work at richardturcotte.com
South Korean, European Trade Deals Prove Harper Can Land The Big One
South Korean, European Trade Deals Prove Harper Can Land The Big One.
OTTAWA – No one will ever again accuse Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his trade minister of not being able to land the big one.
After years of hooking minnows like Honduras, Panama and Jordan, Ottawa has now not only concluded talks with the world’s biggest economy — the European Union — but also with South Korea and, in doing so, opened the door to the world’s most promising market.
The double-coup will certainly become a bragging point for the prime minister in next year’s expected election campaign — before the impacts of the deals, both good and bad, are felt in the economy.
The prime minister has placed expanding trade, along with balancing the budget, at the top of the government’s economic action agenda and the Conservatives will likely be able to claim progress on both fronts by the fall of 2015.
The agreements also put the opposition — particularly the left-leaning New Democrats — in the unenviable position of either having to cheer “me too” or risk continuing to be portrayed as ideologically set against free trade, rather than a particular deal.
In an interview and news release, NDP trade critic Don Davies reserved judgment until the text of the South Korea deal is released, but blasted the government for an “utter lack of transparency,” and warned about possible damage to jobs in the auto sector.
The reaction from Liberal critic Chrystia Freeland was somewhat more positive, saying the party was “broadly supportive” but will need time to review the details.
Analysts say the South Korea deal, although it is far smaller in scope that the European agreement in principle, has the potential of being transformative in Canada’s dealings with what is becoming the world’s most important and biggest economic regions.
By way of comparison, Ottawa estimates free trade with Europe will expand Canada’s gross domestic product output by $12 billion once fully implemented, as opposed to only $1.7 billion in the case of Korea.
But Ian Lee, of the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University, says Korea’s significance is strategic.
“Now we’re in the major league,” he says. “I see South Korea not so much about the actual dollars of trade that’s involved, but it provides a beachhead into Asia and the Asian-Pacific countries that watch each other like a hawk. So it’s a very important precedent in what I believe is the most important part of the world.”
Next on the menu for Harper and Trade Minister Ed Fast are Japan, India and the biggest prize – the TransPacific Partnership, which includes many of the region’s key economies.
Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada president Yuen Pau Woo agrees Korea represents a “breakthrough” in the region that has resisted Canada’s entreaties for years.
“I think it will have a demonstrable effect on our Japan bilateral negotiations because Korea and Japan compete in our market in a number of sectors (particularly autos) and the Korea deal gives it an advantage over Japanese exporters,” he explained.
Economically, trade deals don’t show their true colours until years have passed.
Most economists and business leaders believe the removal of artificial barriers is a general good for a country’s well being, as it forces domestic producers to become more efficient and competitive, while offering consumers lower prices and a wider variety of goods.
Labour groups, however, argue that the theory works only when the playing field is level. In most cases, they see free trade agreements merely resulting in jobs gravitating to low-wage jurisdictions in a classic race to the bottom.
Ford Canada chief executive Dianne Craig’s chief argument in opposing the South Korea deal is not that the Canadian auto sector can’t cope with the removal of a 6.1 per cent tariff on overseas cars, but that South Korea is not a fair player in terms of trade in autos. The deal will allow South Korea to sell more cars in Canada, she believes, while deploying non-tariff barriers to keep Canadian-assembled cars out Korea.
Still the agreement is supported by the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, which includes Ford Canada and other motor companies as members.
CCCE president John Manley says Ford’s concern has the benefit of putting the government to the test, to ensure Korea does not thwart car imports.
The bigger game, however, is that Canada is positioning itself for the economy of the 21st century that will be dominated by the Asia-Pacific market.
“It’s not enough on it’s own, but it’s consistent with a broader strategy to build better trade links, including supply chains into Asia,” said Manley. “Canada is a small open economy and most of our sectors rely on the ability to export.”
As with the Canada-EU agreement, however, the Korean pact does not guarantee that Canadian firms will be successful in expanding exports and investments.
Toronto-based trade counsel Lawrence Herman says the deal, like all others, should be looked at as a “vehicle” that gives Canadian exporters in goods and services an opportunity, but does not mean they will succeed in seizing it.
He expects they will but also says he is confident that Canadian negotiators have given firms the best deal on offer.
“Canada has some of the best trade negotiators in the world, people don’t realize that,” he said. “They are not going to leave anything on the table.”
"Magic" Collateral: A Frank Look At The Sheer Credit Horror About To Be Unleashed In China | Zero Hedge
While the world is terrified about what China – where corporate bond defaults are now permitted – may be about to unleash on the world, most are all too happy to remain in a state of delightful ignorance. We decided to take a peek behind the scenes.
Recall that as we have repeatedly shown in the calendar of coming Chinese bond default, on March 31, a borrower named “Magic” (no comment) is set to default on a CNY196 million Trust.
The default may or may not happen, as there is always a high likelihood it will simply be bailed out as has happened frequently in the past, but regardless of the final outcome, here is what isreally going on behind the scenes. From Bank of America:
31 Mar 2014, Rmb196mn borrowed by Magic Property & arranged by CITIC TrustDetails: invested in an office building in Chongqing. The Chongqing developer ran into financial problems in mid-2013. CITIC Trust tried to auction the collateral but failed to do so because the developer has sold the collateral and also mortgaged it to a few other lenders.
Potential outcome: The developer and the trust company may share the repayment.
Reasons: 1) When CITIC Trust sold the product, it did not specify the underlying investment project. 2) The local government has intervened, fearing social unrest. A local buyer of a unit in the office building committed suicide as he/she could not obtain the title to the property due to the title dispute between the trust and the developer.
Please re-read that first part again:
So, “Magic” not only sold the collateral… but also mortgaged it to a few other lenders: lenders who count its as a perfectly performing asset when in reality they have zero claims to it. Did they steal that straight from the MF Global instruction manual?
Now add this:
“The local government has intervened, fearing social unrest. A local buyer of a unit in the office building committed suicide as he/she could not obtain the title to the property due to the title dispute between the trust and the developer.”
… and multiply by a few thousand for all the other shadow (and not so shadow) players who have engaged in precisely this kind of gross abuse of underlying collateral, which also happens to be the main reason why China can magically create trillions in debt out of thin air with zero collateral constraints, each and every year, no questions asked.
Well, the time to ask a question or two has finally arrived.
“Magic” Collateral: A Frank Look At The Sheer Credit Horror About To Be Unleashed In China | Zero Hedge
While the world is terrified about what China – where corporate bond defaults are now permitted – may be about to unleash on the world, most are all too happy to remain in a state of delightful ignorance. We decided to take a peek behind the scenes.
Recall that as we have repeatedly shown in the calendar of coming Chinese bond default, on March 31, a borrower named “Magic” (no comment) is set to default on a CNY196 million Trust.
The default may or may not happen, as there is always a high likelihood it will simply be bailed out as has happened frequently in the past, but regardless of the final outcome, here is what isreally going on behind the scenes. From Bank of America:
31 Mar 2014, Rmb196mn borrowed by Magic Property & arranged by CITIC TrustDetails: invested in an office building in Chongqing. The Chongqing developer ran into financial problems in mid-2013. CITIC Trust tried to auction the collateral but failed to do so because the developer has sold the collateral and also mortgaged it to a few other lenders.
Potential outcome: The developer and the trust company may share the repayment.
Reasons: 1) When CITIC Trust sold the product, it did not specify the underlying investment project. 2) The local government has intervened, fearing social unrest. A local buyer of a unit in the office building committed suicide as he/she could not obtain the title to the property due to the title dispute between the trust and the developer.
Please re-read that first part again:
So, “Magic” not only sold the collateral… but also mortgaged it to a few other lenders: lenders who count its as a perfectly performing asset when in reality they have zero claims to it. Did they steal that straight from the MF Global instruction manual?
Now add this:
“The local government has intervened, fearing social unrest. A local buyer of a unit in the office building committed suicide as he/she could not obtain the title to the property due to the title dispute between the trust and the developer.”
… and multiply by a few thousand for all the other shadow (and not so shadow) players who have engaged in precisely this kind of gross abuse of underlying collateral, which also happens to be the main reason why China can magically create trillions in debt out of thin air with zero collateral constraints, each and every year, no questions asked.
Well, the time to ask a question or two has finally arrived.
Russia Warns US Against "Illegal" Ukraine Bailout; Ukraine Commences Live-Fire "Drill" With Tanks | Zero Hedge
The tit-for-tat sabre-rattling and rhetoric continues to build ahead of this weekend’s planned referendum in Ukraine’s Crimea region. This morning has seen 3 new threads beginning withUkraine’s “live-fire” exercises involving T-64B tanks. This was then followed by warnings from Russia of “consequences” of “unconditionally indulging radical elements” in Ukraine calling US financial aid “illegal” which was swiftly responded to by the State Department exclaiming it “unacceptable” that Russian forces take matters into their own hands and “do not create the right environment for diplomacy.” Not positive…
Ukraine did its own sabre-rattling:
- *T-64B TANKS INVOLVED IN EXERCISE, LIVE-FIRE TRAINING: MINISTRY
The Russians are not happy
Russia says planned US financial aid to Ukraine is illegalRussia’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that planned U.S. financial aid to Ukraine is illegal and outside American legal norms since it would be funding an illegitimate regime.
“By all criteria, issuing funding to an illegitimate regime that seized power by force is unlawful and goes beyond the framework of the American legal system,” the ministry said in a statement.
The statement echoed assertions made earlier in the day by ousted Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich. The ministry also warned Washington about the consequences of “unconditionally indulging radical elements” in Ukraine.
And Kerry has his own perspective:
U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SAYS RUSSIAN RESPONSES TO U.S. QUESTIONS ON UKRAINE DO NOT CREATE RIGHT ENVIRONMENT FOR DIPLOMACYKerry told Lavrov it is unacceptable that Russian forces and irregulars continue to take matters into their own hands in Ukraine
Of course, this remains a constant distraction from the fact that Russian boots are on the ground in Crimea and the US (and the West) are stuck with how to “off-ramp” the escalating Russian threats without sanctions that would blow-back on to their own economies.
And then Merkel chipped in…
- *MERKEL SAYS RUSSIA IS ANNEXING CRIMEA, PARTY OFFICIAL SAYS
Russia Warns US Against “Illegal” Ukraine Bailout; Ukraine Commences Live-Fire “Drill” With Tanks | Zero Hedge
The tit-for-tat sabre-rattling and rhetoric continues to build ahead of this weekend’s planned referendum in Ukraine’s Crimea region. This morning has seen 3 new threads beginning withUkraine’s “live-fire” exercises involving T-64B tanks. This was then followed by warnings from Russia of “consequences” of “unconditionally indulging radical elements” in Ukraine calling US financial aid “illegal” which was swiftly responded to by the State Department exclaiming it “unacceptable” that Russian forces take matters into their own hands and “do not create the right environment for diplomacy.” Not positive…
Ukraine did its own sabre-rattling:
- *T-64B TANKS INVOLVED IN EXERCISE, LIVE-FIRE TRAINING: MINISTRY
The Russians are not happy
Russia says planned US financial aid to Ukraine is illegalRussia’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that planned U.S. financial aid to Ukraine is illegal and outside American legal norms since it would be funding an illegitimate regime.
“By all criteria, issuing funding to an illegitimate regime that seized power by force is unlawful and goes beyond the framework of the American legal system,” the ministry said in a statement.
The statement echoed assertions made earlier in the day by ousted Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich. The ministry also warned Washington about the consequences of “unconditionally indulging radical elements” in Ukraine.
And Kerry has his own perspective:
U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SAYS RUSSIAN RESPONSES TO U.S. QUESTIONS ON UKRAINE DO NOT CREATE RIGHT ENVIRONMENT FOR DIPLOMACYKerry told Lavrov it is unacceptable that Russian forces and irregulars continue to take matters into their own hands in Ukraine
Of course, this remains a constant distraction from the fact that Russian boots are on the ground in Crimea and the US (and the West) are stuck with how to “off-ramp” the escalating Russian threats without sanctions that would blow-back on to their own economies.
And then Merkel chipped in…
- *MERKEL SAYS RUSSIA IS ANNEXING CRIMEA, PARTY OFFICIAL SAYS