China Test-Fires ICBM, Raising Tensions --- Long-range missile carrying dummy warhead landed in the Pacific Ocean

"SINGAPORE -- China said it test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile on Wednesday, a rare public acknowledgment that is likely to increase tensions with its neighbors.

The ICBM, which was carrying a dummy warhead, fell into "expected sea areas" in the Pacific Ocean, China's Defense Ministry said, without specifying the exact location.

The ministry said the launch, which was carried out by the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force, was part of routine annual training and "is not directed against any country or target."

Navigational warnings indicated the missile was launched from Hainan island in southern China and landed in the South Pacific, analysts said.

China's state-run Xinhua News Agency said Beijing had notified "relevant countries" ahead of the launch, though it didn't say which nations.

Drew Thompson, a senior research fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore, wrote on X that the timing of China's launch appeared to be motivated at least in part by geopolitical frictions with Japan, the Philippines and Taiwan.

"Timing is everything," wrote Thompson, a former Pentagon official, who said separately that he believed it was Beijing's first public acknowledgment of an ICBM test launch since 1982. "This launch is a powerful signal intended to intimidate everyone."

China is developing its nuclear arsenal, including expanding its stockpile of warheads, the Pentagon has said.

One likely motivation in that buildup is to limit the U.S.'s ability to intervene in any conflict over Taiwan.

Wednesday's test could help provide data for modernization efforts, and shows that China is "abandoning some of its previous restraint" when it comes to expanding its nuclear capabilities, said Henrik Stalhane Hiim, a professor at the Norwegian Institute for Defense Studies.

China's modernization program has come under scrutiny as its rocket forces have been at the center of one of the country's most significant cases of military corruption in recent years. Last year, China purged its defense minister, Li Shangfu, who was formerly the director of a satellite-launch base and director of the military's armaments department.

Beijing later removed nine senior officers from their roles in the legislature, including five who held positions in the PLA Rocket Force, which controls the military's nuclear and conventional missiles. Li and Wei Fenghe, a former defense minister who previously was a commander of the PLA Rocket Force, were expelled from the Communist Party and their cases referred to prosecutors.

China is estimated to have about 500 nuclear warheads, while the U.S. has 5,044 and Russia 5,580, said the Federation of American Scientists in March. The Pentagon estimates China will have a stockpile of 1,500 warheads by 2035.

Beijing has long feared encirclement by the U.S. and its allies, and China's ICBM test launch comes amid growing concerns about U.S. missile systems being set up around its periphery. Several years ago, it failed to stop South Korea from installing a U.S. missile-defense system despite a pressure campaign aimed at Seoul. In the past few weeks, it has railed against a U.S. medium-range missile system that has been set up in the northern Philippines.

Separately on Wednesday, Taiwan's Defense Ministry said it detected 23 Chinese military aircraft around the island, all but one of which crossed into the island's air-defense identification zone. The region has been on edge as a Russian military reconnaissance plane entered Japan's airspace Monday, prompting Japanese jet fighters to fire warning flares." [1]

1. World News: China Test-Fires ICBM, Raising Tensions --- Long-range missile carrying dummy warhead landed in the Pacific Ocean. Leong, Clarence; Austin Ramzy.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 26 Sep 2024: A.7. 

JAV naujienos: Harris išdėsto ekonominę viziją --- Kandidatės planas apima 100 milijardų dolerių mokesčių kreditus, skirtus JAV gamybai skatinti

 

 „PITTSBURGH viceprezidentė Kamala Harris pažadėjo taikyti pragmatišką požiūrį į JAV ekonomiką, daugiausia dėmesio skiriant gamybai ir vidutinės klasės galimybėms trečiadienio kalboje, kuria siekiama įtikinti rinkėjus dėl jos gebėjimo panaudoti ekonomikos augimą.

 

 Demokratų kandidatė į prezidentus Harris išdėstė planus dėl mokesčių paskatų rinkinio, kuriuo būtų siekiama paskatinti naujos kartos pramonės šakas, itin svarbias ekonomikai ir nacionaliniam saugumui. Nauji mokesčių kreditai investicijoms į gamybą apimtų pagrindines sritis, įskaitant biogamybą, aviaciją, dirbtinį intelektą ir kvantinę kompiuteriją.

 

 Pasak Harris patarėjų, mokesčių kreditai, kurie kampanijoje nebuvo išsamiai aprašyti, per 10 metų kainuotų 100 mlrd. dolerių.

 

 Paskatos, kuriomis siekiama kovoti su Kinija, būtų sutelktos į gamyklų miestų atgaivinimą ir esamų gamyklų pertvarkymą bei atlyginimų ir profesinių sąjungų partnerysčių didinimą, sakė kampanijos pareigūnai.

 

 „Amerikos žmonės turi rinktis iš dviejų iš esmės labai skirtingų mūsų ekonomikos kelių. Ketinu nubrėžti naują kelią į priekį ir auginti Amerikos viduriniąją klasę“, – sakė Harris Pitsburgo ekonomikos klubui Carnegie Mellon universiteto miestelyje, kur vyko jos kampanija bei išdalino maždaug 80 puslapių ekonominės politikos darbotvarkę

 

 Harris sakė, kad ji akcentuos pragmatiškumą ir bendradarbiaus su privačiu sektoriumi, kad padėtų pagerinti viduriniosios klasės šeimų padėtį.

 

 Ji nurodė, kad jos varžovas, buvusis prezidentas Donaldas Trumpas, yra suinteresuotas padėti turtingiesiems ir korporacijoms, o ne viduriniosios klasės šeimoms. „Donaldui Trumpui mūsų ekonomika veikia geriausiai, jei ji tinka tiems, kuriems priklauso dideli dangoraižiai, o ne tiems, kurie iš tikrųjų juos stato, ne tiems, kurie juos montuoja, ne tiems, kurie šluosto grindis“, – sakė ji.

 

 Harris taip pat atstūmė Trumpo bandymus apibūdinti ją, kaip „marksistę“. „Aš esu kapitalistė“, – sakė ji. „Tikiu laisvomis ir sąžiningomis rinkomis“.

 

 Trečiadienio kalba parodė, kad Harris, jei bus išrinkta, imsis pramonės politikos, siekdama panaudoti vyriausybės priemones pagrindiniams JAV ekonomikos sektoriams skatinti. Abi šalys vis labiau laikosi pramonės politikos, atsisakydamos tradicinių laisvosios rinkos požiūrių, siekdamos padidinti JAV gamybos pajėgumus, kad galėtų konkuruoti su Pekinu.

 

 Brianas Deese'as, ilgametis prezidento Bideno padėjėjas, patariantis Harris kampanijai, yra garsus pramonės politikos gynėjas.

 

 Dvi prezidento rinkimų kampanijos detalizuoja konkuruojančias JAV ekonomikos vizijas, kuriomis siekiama įgyti pranašumą dėl pagrindinio rinkėjų rūpesčio.

 

 Respublikonų partijos kandidatas Trumpas antradienį Savanoje, Ga., pasakė jo ekonominius nurodymus, pažadėdamas įvesti didelius muitus Kinijai ir sumažinti pelno mokesčio tarifą.

 

 Atskirame kreipimesi trečiadienį Šiaurės Karolinoje jis suabejojo ​​Harris įsipareigojimu, turint omenyje, kad ji buvo Bideno administracijos 2-ojoje vietoje.

 

 Trumpas sakė, kad jo oponentė „tariamai paskelbė apie jos vadinamuosius planus remti gamybą ir gerovės kūrimą – į tai turiu labai paprastą atsakymą: kodėl ji to nepadarė?

 

 Harris siekė sumenkinti Trumpo pranašumą su rinkėjais dėl ekonomikos, prieš prasidedant išankstiniam balsavimui mūšio lauko valstijose – ir kai kurios apklausos parodė, kad buvusio prezidento pranašumas slysta. Jos kalba buvo siekiama atkreipti kontrastą su Trumpu, kuris vadovavo stipriai ekonomikai prieš Covid-19 pandemiją ir pasiūlė populistines iniciatyvas, pvz., panaikinti federalinius mokesčius arbatpinigiams ir viršvalandžiams, taip pat mokesčių mažinimą.

 

 Harris ir D. Trumpas varžosi dėl paramos apskritai stiprios ekonomikos fone, nes akcijos pakilo iki rekordų dėl palyginti žemo 4,2% nedarbo lygio JAV ir Federalinio rezervo banko sprendimo sumažinti palūkanų normas.

 

 Tačiau infliacija tebėra didžiausias rinkėjų susirūpinimas, keliantis rinkėjams nerimą, o darbo vietų gamyboje augimas nekilo.

 

 Harrisas sakė, kad nepaisant pastarojo meto „teigiamų žingsnių“ ekonomikoje, „pragyvenimo kaina Amerikoje yra tiesiog per didelė“.

 

 Tuo pat metu abu varžovai varžėsi dėl paramos tarp darbininkų klasės rinkėjų, o dauguma profesinių sąjungų remia Harrisą. Tačiau buvo pastebima išimtis „Teamsters“, kurie praėjusią savaitę paskelbė, kad pirmą kartą per dešimtmečius išliks neutralūs, ir paskelbė apklausos duomenis, rodančius, kad jų eiliniai nariai remia Trumpą.

 

 Keliaudama į Pitsburgą, Harris dalyvavo interviu su MSNBC Stephanie Ruhle, kuris buvo rodomas trečiadienio vakarą. Viceprezidentė kritikavo D. Trumpo ekonominę darbotvarkę, vengdama klausimų dėl jos pačios nuomonės dėl tarifų ir valstybės bei vietinių mokesčių lengvatų ribos.

 

 „Jūs neapgalvojate tik tarifų idėjos, ir tai yra dalis problemos su kandidatu vardu Donaldas Trumpas“, – sakė ji.

 

Jos popietinėje kalboje Harris vėl aptarė savo viltis sukurti „galimybių ekonomiką“ mažinant išlaidas, investuojant į Amerikos inovacijas ir pirmaujant pasaulyje ateities pramonės šakose.

 

 Harris pasiūlė keletą politinių iniciatyvų po to, kai pretendavo į partijos kandidatūrą, įskaitant planą pirmą kartą perkantiems būstą suteikti 25 000 dolerių, kurie padėtų sumokėti pradinį įnašą, ir 6 000 dolerių mokesčių kreditą šeimoms su naujagimiais.

 

 Prieš jų kalbą demokratai Trumpo planus padidinti tarifus užsienio šalims apibūdino, kaip mokestį amerikiečiams darbuotojams, kurie sukeltų nenumatytų pasekmių ekonomikai, remdamiesi jo šią savaitę paskelbtu pranešimu, kad jis įves naujus tarifus ūkio įrangos gamintojui „Deere“ už tam tikros gamybos perkėlimą į Meksiką.“ [1]

 

Daugiau kiaulienos Harriso komanda duos nieko nesugebantiems žmonėms.

 

1. U.S. News: Harris Sets Out Economic Vision --- Candidate's plan includes $100 billion tax credits to boost U.S. manufacturing. Thomas, Ken; Tarini Parti; Restuccia, Andrew.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 26 Sep 2024: A.4.

U.S. News: Harris Sets Out Economic Vision --- Candidate's plan includes $100 billion tax credits to boost U.S. manufacturing

 

"PITTSBURGH -- Vice President Kamala Harris vowed to bring a pragmatic approach to the U.S. economy, with a focus on manufacturing and middle-class opportunities in a Wednesday address aimed at reassuring voters about her ability to harness economic growth.

Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, outlined plans for a set of tax incentives that would seek to spur next-generation industries crucial to the economy and national security. The new tax credits for investments in manufacturing and production would span key areas including biomanufacturing, aerospace, artificial intelligence and quantum computing.

The tax credits, which the campaign hasn't described in detail, would cost $100 billion over 10 years and be paid for using revenue from raising taxes on U.S. companies' foreign earnings if Congress implements the global corporate minimum tax agreement, according to Harris's advisers.

The incentives, aimed at countering China, would focus on revitalizing factory towns and retooling existing factories and boosting wages and union partnerships, campaign officials said.

"The American people face a choice between two fundamentally very different paths for our economy. I intend to chart a new way forward and grow America's middle class," Harris told the Economic Club of Pittsburgh on the campus of Carnegie Mellon University, where her campaign handed out a roughly 80-page economic policy agenda

Harris said she would emphasize pragmatism and work with the private sector to help improve the standing of middle-class families.

She cast her rival, former President Donald Trump, as interested in helping the wealthy and corporations instead of middle-class families. "For Donald Trump, our economy works best if it works for those who own the big skyscrapers, not those who actually build them, not those who wire them, not those who mop the floors," she said.

Harris also pushed back on Trump's attempts to characterize her as a "Marxist." "I'm a capitalist," she said. "I believe in free and fair markets."

Wednesday's speech signaled that Harris, if elected, would embrace industrial policy in a bid to use the tools of government to boost key sectors of the U.S. economy. Both parties have increasingly embraced industrial policy, casting aside traditional free market views, as they seek to build U.S. manufacturing capacity to compete with Beijing.

Brian Deese, a longtime aide to President Biden who is advising Harris's campaign, is a vocal advocate of industrial policy.

The two presidential campaigns are detailing competing visions for the U.S. economy, aiming to gain an advantage on a central concern for voters. 

Trump, the Republican nominee, offered his economic prescriptions in a speech Tuesday in Savannah, Ga., vowing to implement large tariffs against China and slash the corporate tax rate. 

In a separate address Wednesday in North Carolina, he questioned Harris's commitment, given her time as Biden's No. 2.

Trump said his opponent was "supposedly announcing her so-called plans to support manufacturing and wealth creation -- to which I have a very simple reply: Why hasn't she done it?"

Harris has sought to blunt Trump's advantage with voters on the economy ahead of the start of early voting in battleground states -- and some polls have shown the former president's edge slipping. Her speech aimed to draw contrasts with Trump, who presided over a strong economy before the Covid-19 pandemic and has put forward populist initiatives such as eliminating federal taxes on tips and overtime wages, along with tax cuts.

Harris and Trump are vying for support against the backdrop of a generally strong economy, as stocks have soared to records amid a relatively low U.S. unemployment rate of 4.2% and the Federal Reserve's decision to cut interest rates.

 But inflation remains a top concern for voters, creating anxiety among the electorate, and manufacturing job growth has been flat.

Harris said despite recent "positive steps" in the economy, "the cost of living in America is just too high."

At the same time, the two rivals have competed for support among working-class voters, with most labor unions backing Harris. But there has been a notable exception in the Teamsters, who announced last week they would remain neutral for the first time in decades and released polling data showing their rank-and-file members behind Trump.

As part of her trip to Pittsburgh, Harris sat for an interview with MSNBC's Stephanie Ruhle that aired Wednesday night. The vice president criticized Trump's economic agenda, while dodging questions on her own views on tariffs and the cap on state and local tax deductions.

"You don't just throw around the idea of just tariffs across the board, and that's part of the problem with Donald Trump," she said.

Harris again discussed in her afternoon speech her hopes for creating an "opportunity economy" by lowering costs, investing in American innovation and leading the world in industries of the future.

Harris has proposed several policy initiatives since claiming the party's nomination, including a plan to provide first-time home buyers $25,000 to help with down payments and a $6,000 tax credit for families with newborns.

Ahead of her speech, Democrats described Trump's plans to increase tariffs on foreign countries as a tax on American workers that would create unintended consequences for the economy, citing his announcement this week that he would slap new tariffs on farm equipment maker Deere for moving some production to Mexico." [1]

Harris' team will give more pork to the people with no ability to perform the work needed.

 

1. U.S. News: Harris Sets Out Economic Vision --- Candidate's plan includes $100 billion tax credits to boost U.S. manufacturing. Thomas, Ken; Tarini Parti; Restuccia, Andrew.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 26 Sep 2024: A.4.