The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) warned Indians earlier this week that virtual currencies (VCs) like Bitcoin, which is now hitting the stratosphere in terms of valuation, are risky, and hence not worthy of use or investment. In fact, this is not a new warning, for four years ago it had raised similar red flags and pointed out the risks. Unfortunately, while the risks of investing in cryptocurrencies that are now in bubble territory – Bitcoin hit $17,000 on Thursday (7 December) – are obvious, the reasons the RBI trotted out to underline the risks are almost the same as that for regular currencies.12 December 2017
RBI Warning On Bitcoin Is A Bit Of A Joke; Cryptos Are Here To Stay And We Need To Deal With Them
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) warned Indians earlier this week that virtual currencies (VCs) like Bitcoin, which is now hitting the stratosphere in terms of valuation, are risky, and hence not worthy of use or investment. In fact, this is not a new warning, for four years ago it had raised similar red flags and pointed out the risks. Unfortunately, while the risks of investing in cryptocurrencies that are now in bubble territory – Bitcoin hit $17,000 on Thursday (7 December) – are obvious, the reasons the RBI trotted out to underline the risks are almost the same as that for regular currencies.Leading Space Powers Are Investing Big In Constructing Next-Gen Space Stations, Why Isn’t India?
In order to march boldly ahead into the deep space, New Delhi must work towards building a station, boost its techno-economic planning and use the Indian Space Research Organisation smartly. The 2020s will be a decade of space stations. The well-established space powers — Beijing, Moscow, Washington, Paris, Tokyo and the newer entrants, Abu Dhabi and Luxembourg, are constructing next-generation space stations that will usher in a new wave of industrialisation.China Is Now Making Some of the Most Powerful Guns on the Planet
Kyle Mizokami
China’s People’s Liberation Army has traditionally relied on foreign and Communist bloc weapons manufactured in China under license—or not. Now, however, as the PLA undergoes an unprecedented modernization, a new generation of locally designed and manufactured light weaponry is arming China’s armed forces, from handguns to light machine guns. China’s first modern, locally designed and produced assault rifle is the QBZ-95, currently standard issue across the People’s Liberation Army and China’s internal security force, the People’s Armed Police. The weapon first entered Chinese service in the mid-1990s. The QBZ-95 is a so-called “bullpup” rifle, meaning the trigger and fire-control group are placed ahead of the magazine, which is inserted into the rifle stock.Why America Should Beware a Resurgent China
J. Michael Cole
As it makes its presence felt in every corner of the world and posits an alternative to the Western liberal-democratic order that has underpinned international relations since the end of World War II, China is beginning to experience some of the blowback that other global leaders before it have been met with. And judging from the indignant reactions in some Beijing circles, that backlash was not entirely expected. With doubts over the future of U.S. global leadership rising and democracies worldwide arguably entering a period of fatigue, we are witnessing a new, more assertive phase in China’s foreign engagement under President Xi Jinping. China has seen an opportunity to displace an old international system that, in its view, is both unfair and which has outlived its usefulness, and it is now flexing its muscles to make this a reality.Infographic Of The Day: China's Space Lab For Long Missions
On Sept. 15, 2016, China launched its uncrewed Tiangong-2 space lab to Earth orbit. Learn all about the spacecraft, which China views as a key step toward building a bona fide space station, in this infographic. The China Manned Space Engineering Office published a brief description of Tiangong-2 and its successor Tiangong-3 in 2008, indicating that at least two crewed spaceships would be launched to dock with Tiangong-2.
Recognize Jerusalem as Capital of Israel and Palestine
Ghanem Nuseibeh
Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is a grave mistake. Whenever there is a conflict in the Middle East, the city features prominently, whether or not the dispute is between Israel and its neighbours. Jerusalem has been targeted many times by warring parties seeking to draw the country into a wider regional conflict. Saddam Hussein, former Iraqi president, tried to do so during the first Gulf war of the early 1990s.
The Defeat And Survival Of The Islamic State
Several people have asked me lately whether I thought the Islamic State will become a "virtual caliphate" now that it has lost most of the terrain it once held, including the strategic cities of Mosul and Raqqa. At the same time, I've talked with people who claim that the Islamic State has been destroyed. Both viewpoints have some truth to them, but neither is the whole truth. Both miss where the Islamic State is really headed.Why Syria Could Become the Black Hole of the Middle East
Daniel R. DePetris
Last week, representatives of Bashar al-Assad’s regime and members of the Syrian opposition met for the eighth time in Geneva for what UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura billed as the best opportunity the parties have had to discuss a political transition for the country. Unfortunately, there is very little—if anything—to talk about; both sides remain so attached to their absolutist demands and negotiating positions that even mild compromise on Syria’s political future is beyond reach.An Emboldened Iran Has Begun to Seek out the Geopolitical Spotlight
Geneive Abdo
Iran’s political elites are endorsing the assassination of former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh and signalling that Tehran’s expansionist aims in the region are widely supported across the Iranian political spectrum. The assassination, presumably carried out by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels on December 4, was condoned by Iranian president Hasan Rouhani, the chief commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Mohammed Ali Jafari, and the editor-in-chief of Kayhan, a newspaper close to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. In referring to the killing, Jafari went as far as to declare that the benefits Iran sees in the aftermath of Saleh’s assassination are a step toward fulfilling the goals of the 1979 Islamic revolution. “Iran’s allies in Syria, Yemen and Bahrain have taken inspiration from the experiment of the Iranian revolution,” he was quoted on the website Tasnim, a news agency close to the IRGC.An Emboldened Iran Has Begun to Seek out the Geopolitical Spotlight
Geneive Abdo
Iran’s role and aims in the Middle East—often described as expansionist—are more complicated than what typically appears on the surface. Iran’s political elites are endorsing the assassination of former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh and signalling that Tehran’s expansionist aims in the region are widely supported across the Iranian political spectrum. The assassination, presumably carried out by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels on December 4, was condoned by Iranian president Hasan Rouhani, the chief commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Mohammed Ali Jafari, and the editor-in-chief of Kayhan, a newspaper close to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. In referring to the killing, Jafari went as far as to declare that the benefits Iran sees in the aftermath of Saleh’s assassination are a step toward fulfilling the goals of the 1979 Islamic revolution. “Iran’s allies in Syria, Yemen and Bahrain have taken inspiration from the experiment of the Iranian revolution,” he was quoted on the website Tasnim, a news agency close to the IRGC.Suck it up, Britain: now you know how to negotiate with the EU
Joris Luyendijk
The announcement this morning that Britain and the EU are finally ready to start actual negotiations is welcome news for Europeans. Almost 18 months after the referendum, the Brits have done what every reality-based observer knew they would have to do eventually: they have buckled. By giving in to each and every EU demand, the May government is showing that it is finally learning to behave like the junior partner it is. Brussels and EU member states are far too polite and constructive to say so out loud, but for the next decade or so the default position for Britain in its dealings with the EU is simple: you suck it up.What on Earth Is Going on in Ukraine?
BY JOSH COHEN
On December 7, Ukraine’s parliament is likely to dismiss the head of Ukraine’s only independent anticorruption body, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU). Established in 2015 to target high-level crimes committed by the country’s corrupt political class, NABU has demonstrated a high level of independence led by its director Artem Sytnyk. It has not hesitated to target senior officials, judges, and state enterprise managers who previously possessed de-facto immunity from prosecution.The Strategic Impact of Making Jerusalem the Capital of Israel
By Anthony H. Cordesman
President Trump's announcement on December 6th that, "It is time to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel," and that he is "directing the State Department to begin preparation to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem," will hurt both Israeli and U.S. strategic interests. Two critical problems: It damages Israel and U.S. interests by seriously irritating the Arab world, and it gives Iran, the Hezbollah, and Russia the opportunity to exploit this anger and the divisions. There was no earthly reason to provoke the Arab world. All President Trump had to do to help Israel was to ignore his campaign rhetoric and Israel's political hardliners, and do nothing. Every year since 1967, Israel has slowly created new facts on the ground in Jerusalem and on the West Bank. Jerusalem has become steadily more Jewish, and the Jewish areas in greater Jerusalem have expanded eastward to the point where they have virtually reached the edge of the slopes down to the Jordon River Valley.
The Globalization of Our Discontent
JOSEPH E. STIGLITZ
Globalization, which was supposed to benefit developed and developing countries alike, is now reviled almost everywhere, as the political backlash in Europe and the US in recent years has shown. The challenge is to minimize the risk that the backlash will intensify, and that starts by understanding – and avoiding – past mistakes. Fifteen years ago, I published Globalization and Its Discontents, a book that sought to explain why there was so much dissatisfaction with globalization within the developing countries. Quite simply, many believed that the system was “rigged” against them, and global trade agreements were singled out for being particularly unfair.
Counterintelligence in the Private Sector
By William Tucker
When it comes to research and development, the United States spends more than any other nation. According to the National Science Foundation's National Center for Science and Engineering, the U.S. spent $499 billion dollars on R&D with 69% of that sum coming from the private sector. Knowing this, foreign intelligence services have been targeting U.S. businesses rather aggressively over the past few decades. Theft of intellectual property belonging to U.S. business can save foreign competitors millions, if not billions, of dollars each year. The U.S. business sector, however, has been ill equipped to deal with the collection attempts by both foreign powers and business sector competitors. Losses to U.S. companies range from tens of billions to hundreds of billions annually and these far ranging estimates do not always consider tertiary losses. Economic espionage is so problematic because not only does it undermine U.S. national security, but it also harms the overall economic well-being.Blockchains - What Are They? What Can We Expect?
by Elliott Morss
Introduction
I know very little about blockchains (BC), distributed ledger systems, and crypto-currencies such as Bitcoin. But I am a bit dumbfounded by the claims of what "the BC era" will bring. In what follows, I comment on some of these claims appearing in a paper written by Don and Alex Tapscott in the MIT Sloan Management Review. Quotes from the article start with BC. The lead-in to my comments is EM. Click on graphic below for larger image.
A Little Background
DoD spent $7.4 billion on big data, AI and the cloud last year. Is that enough?
By: Amber Corrin
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Lt. Bret Andrews, assigned to the guided-missile destroyer USS Paul Hamilton (DDG 60), stands officer of the deck watch in the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Fleet Integrated Synthetic Training and Testing Facility (FIST2FAC) operated by the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Keyport, located on Ford Island, Hawaii. FIST2FAC allows Sailors to interact with artificially intelligent synthetic forces in verious settings. Spurred by a desire to overmatch future foes with modern technology, the Defense Department is boosting investment in core tech areas such as artificial intelligence, big data and cloud computing. While spending in those three areas reached more than $7 billion in 2017 – a 32 percent increase over five years ago – anything short of a technological revolution could threaten the United States, according to a new report.SPAWAR: Artificial intelligence should be the next space race
By: Mark Pomerleau
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The push for artificial intelligence is slowing becoming the new buzz in both the commercial-civilian sector as well as the defense industrial complex. “This is the space race of the 21st Century. Whether we want to admit it or not, we’re in a competitive space to own this technology,” Chris Miller, executive director of SPAWAR Atlantic, said during a keynote address Dec. 6 at a defense conference hosted by the Charleston Defense Contractors Association in Charleston, SC. Miller called on the United States to think strategically about AI given that it’s pretty clear that other nations such as China have placed it under great importance.Blockchains - What Are They? What Can We Expect?
by Elliott Morss
I know very little about blockchains (BC), distributed ledger systems, and crypto-currencies such as Bitcoin. But I am a bit dumbfounded by the claims of what "the BC era" will bring. In what follows, I comment on some of these claims appearing in a paper written by Don and Alex Tapscott in the MIT Sloan Management Review. Quotes from the article start with BC. The lead-in to my comments is EM. Click on graphic below for larger image.
A Little Background
Analysts Explore Aircraft Carrier Alternatives
By Jon Harper
The Pentagon could save money by jettisoning plans for future Ford-class aircraft carriers and pursuing alternatives. But doing so would require capability tradeoffs and a reconsideration of operating concepts, analysts said. The Ford-class program is projected to cost approximately $140 billion, RAND Corp. analysts Bradley Martin and Michael McMahon said in a Navy-commissioned report, “Future Aircraft Carrier Options,” which was released in October.Here Is the U.S. Air Force's Crazy Plan to Kill Drones with Falcons
Task and Purpose Jared Keller
What has two wings and doesn’t give a damn? The peregrine falcon: the fastest member of the animal kingdom, preternaturally terrifying bird of prey… and, now, the natural enemy of unmanned aerial vehicles. The Air Force is into putting falcons to work for the U.S. armed forces — and new research suggests they’re smart to do so: The peregrine falcon may hold the key to developing anti-drone interceptor systems. The research, conducted by a group of Air Force-funded researchers at Oxford University and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, consisted of letting GPS-outfitted falcons go to pound-town on drone-mounted dummy targets to observe the birds’ interception behaviors. They found that, on the hunt, falcons operate “in a similar way to most guided missiles,” according to Oxford zoologist and chief investigator Graham Taylor.