science

US Space Chief Warns Congress Of China’s Space Capabilities In Potential Indo–Pacific War

Authored by Frank Fang via The Epoch Times,

China’s ambitions in space pose a “powerful destabilizing force” to the U.S. economy and national security, according to Gen. Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations for the U.S. Space Force.

“Space has become a warfighting domain,” Saltzman told the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, a bipartisan congressional panel, in a hearing on April 3.

“Over the last two decades, our competitors, China in particular, have invested heavily in counter space threats, kinetic and non-kinetic weapons that can deny, degrade, or destroy our satellites,” Saltzman warned.

The hearing took place as tensions have mounted between China and the United States regarding trade policies and tariffs. Saltzman’s testimony sheds light on the challenges that the U.S. military could face over a potential conflict in the western Pacific, including Taiwan.

Saltzman explained that China has been able to advance its space capabilities quickly because it has a “Western Pacific mindset,” pooling all its resources and advancing all capabilities in that region. In contrast, the United States has more global concerns, according to the Space Force commander.

“The modern battlefield has to account for the space domain,“ he said. 

”If we can’t continue to protect our use of the domain and we can’t deny an adversary, it’s going to be tough to meet military objectives in any of the other domains.”

In his written testimony, Saltzman explained that the Chinese regime’s military, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), has set out military objectives for the space domain.

“Intelligence suggests the PLA likely sees counterspace operations as a means to deter and counter U.S. military intervention in a regional conflict,” Saltzman wrote.

The general said China’s space weapons include ground-to-space missiles and ground-based lasers, the latter of which can “disrupt, degrade, or damage satellite sensors.”

“By the mid-to-late 2020s, we expect them to deploy systems high enough in power that they can physically damage satellite structures,” his testimony reads.

Currently, China’s military exercises “regularly incorporate radio frequency jammers” against space-based communications, radars, and navigation systems, according to Saltzman.

“Intelligence suggests the PLA may be developing jammers to target a greater range of frequencies, including U.S. military protected extremely-high-frequency (EHF) systems,” he said.

In 2022, China used a satellite equipped with a robotic arm to tow a defunct Chinese navigation satellite to a graveyard orbit. Saltzman said such a robot-armed satellite was an example of how satellites can have both civilian and military applications and that it is “not a science fiction” that China can use such technology to “capture enemy satellites.”

China is also practicing “dogfighting in space,” Saltzman said, saying his service has seen Chinese experimental satellites conducting “unusual, large, and rapid maneuvers” in geostationary orbit in recent years. Based on the observation, Saltzman said Beijing “is resolved to contest [U.S.] spacepower through combat operations.”

“China’s advancement in space technology, their stated desire to dominate, and Beijing’s disregard for international norms for the responsible use of space make them an incredible danger to U.S. prosperity and security,” he said.

“China’s determination…

Netanyahu Says Iran Should Blow Up Own Nuclear Sites Under US Supervision

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that if US ‘indirect’ talks with Iran over its nuclear program fail, then a military attack becomes ‘inevitable’. He issued the warning fresh off his Monday Oval Office visit with President Trump, wherein the US leader announced for the first time that Saturday talks with the Iranians will be hosted in Oman. 

Netanyahu said in the new video statement, ““We agree that Iran will not have nuclear weapons. This can be done in an agreement, but only if… they go in, blow up (Iran’s) facilities, dismantle all the equipment, under American supervision.” And he added: “If talks drag on, then the military option becomes inevitable.” Watch the Tuesday video message below:

Netanyahu, fresh off meeting with Trump, says the upcoming Iran “negotiations” will be based on the Libyan model, which would require Iran to “blow up” its own nuclear facilities under US supervision. Of course, the “Libyan model” resulted in Gadaffi getting regime-changed anyway pic.twitter.com/R57QTfodvw
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) April 8, 2025
Trump himself appeared to allude to this either/or scenario, or ultimatum to Tehran, when he said Monday, “I think everybody agrees that doing a deal would be preferable to doing the obvious. And the obvious is not something that I want to be involved with, or frankly that Israel wants to be involved with, if they can avoid it.”

Trump then admitted, “But it’s getting to be very dangerous territory, and hopefully those talks will be successful.”

And after alluding to the worst case scenario, he offered a bright spot: “We’re having direct talks with Iran and they’ve started, it’ll go on Saturday. We have a very big meeting and we’ll see what can happen.”

Netanyahu’s interesting description of blowing up or exploding Iran’s nuclear sites appears akin to what the US under George W. Bush offered Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi. The strongman had famously ‘come in from the cold’ and gave up all WMD programs in return for an end to global isolation and Western sanctions.

Bush had at the time reportedly warned Gaddafi that “either you get rid of your weapons of mass destruction or [the United States] will personally destroy them and destroy everything with no discussion.” In the end Gaddafi did just that, which didn’t get him too far.

This seems to be the rhetoric that Netanyahu is echoing now. It should be remembered, however, that Gaddafi was still toppled due to US-NATO military intervention in 2011. Again, this after he gave up his advanced weapons program, leaving Libya more vulnerable to West-sponsored regime change.
A Maxar closeup satellite imagery of the Parchin Military Complex in Iran from Nov. 2022 Axios/Maxar Technologies

Meanwhile journalist Ken Klippenstein has pointed out that the Pentagon has prepared for Trump to go berserk on Iran if he gives the order…

In the largest single deployment of stealth bombers in U.S. history, the Pentagon has sent six B-2 “Spirit” aircraft to Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.

The long-range bombers, which are uniquely suited to evade Iranian air defenses and can…

The American Jacobin: How Some On The Left Have Found Release In An Age Of Rage

Authored by Jonathan Turley,

“We should replace our piece of crap Constitution.”

Those words from author Elie Mystal, a regular commentator on MSNBC, are hardly surprising from someone who previously called the Constitution “trash” and urged not just the abolition of the U.S. Senate but also of “all voter registration laws.”

But Mystal’s radical rhetoric is becoming mainstream on the left, as shown by his best-selling books and popular media appearances.

There is a counter-constitutional movement building in law schools and across the country. And although Mystal has not advocated violence, some on the left are turning to political violence and criminal acts. It is part of the “righteous rage” that many of them see as absolving them from the basic demands not only of civility but of legality.

They are part of a rising class of American Jacobins — bourgeois revolutionaries increasingly prepared to trash everything, from cars to the Constitution.

The Jacobins were a radical group in France that propelled that country into the worst excesses of the French Revolution. They were largely affluent citizens, including journalists, professors, lawyers, and others who shredded existing laws and destroyed property. It would ultimately lead not only to the blood-soaked “Reign of Terror” but also to the demise of the Jacobins themselves as more radical groups turned against them.

Of course, it is not revolution on the minds of most of these individuals. It is rage.

Rage is the ultimate drug. It offers a release from longstanding social norms — a license to do those things long repressed by individuals who viewed themselves as decent, law-abiding citizens.

Across the country, liberals are destroying Tesla cars, torching dealerships and charging stations, and even allegedly hitting political dissenters with their cars.

Last week, affluent liberal shoppers admitted that they are shoplifting from Whole Foods to strike back at Jeff Bezos for working with the Trump administration and moving the Washington Post back to the political center. 

They are also enraged at Mark Zuckerberg for restoring free speech protections at Meta.

One “20-something communications professional” in Washington explained “If a billionaire can steal from me, I can scrape a little off the top, too.”  These affluent shoplifters portrayed themselves as Robin Hoods.

Of course, that is assuming Robin Hood was stealing organic fruit from the rich and giving it to himself.

On college campuses, affluent students and even professors are engaging in political violence.

Just this week, University of Wisconsin Professor José Felipe Alvergue, head of the English Department, turned over the table of College Republicans supporting a conservative for the Wisconsin Supreme Court. He reportedly declared, “The time for this is over!”

Likewise, a mob this week attacked a conservative display and tent on the campus of the University of California-Davis as campus police passively watched. The Antifa protesters, carrying a large banner with the slogan “ACAB” or “all cops are bastards,” trashed the tent and carried it off.

Antifa is a violent and vehemently anti-free speech group that thrives on U.S. college campuses. In his book “Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook,” Mark Bray explains that “most Americans in Antifa have been anarchists or antiauthoritarian communists. … From that…

The Great Globalists Invasion: These Titans Have Only One Goal – The Domination Of The Human Race Via Dictatorship

Authored by Madge Waddy,

Half the developed world is walking blithely towards authoritarianism. Seeking change, citizens are voting against their best interests and allowing iconic democratic institutions to corrode.

There is still room for redemption, but hope is not a strategy. To prevent the rise of fascism, people need to use the very rights that are at risk. The right to free speech, the right to assembly. The right to vote. In theory, the right to bear arms is also meant to prevent the rise of tyranny. Unfortunately, a significant portion of society is too busy watching Netflix or worshiping false gods to prevent democracy’s demise.

As we saw in France over the past few months, we can use these rights to our benefit. Whether or not we choose to do so is to be determined. Sadly, once the threshold into authoritarianism is crossed redemption is no-longer a winning strategy.

It’s too early to know what the future holds, but in the following article I attempt to show what daily life in a dictatorship is like and how best to survive.

“Every day in the Gestapo, I saw how people had been broken by terror. I experienced myself how one was crunched by this machine. That is what was so monstrous about it. One was no longer human.” 

– Victor Klemperer from his diaries “I Will Bear Witness: A Diary of the Nazi Years”

Life Under Authoritarian Rule

Authoritarian governments rule by fear. Broad top-down and grassroots surveillance is key to keeping the population on edge.

North Korea’s surveillance state is among the most extreme in the world. The regime employs a vast network of informants, and even private conversations are not safe from scrutiny. Citizens are required to attend weekly self-criticism sessions, where they must confess any perceived disloyalty. This constant surveillance ensures that any opposition – along with the dissenter’s entire family – is quickly identified and neutralized. The fear of imprisonment, torture, or execution is ever-present, as even minor infractions can lead to severe punishment.

In Nazi Germany, the secret police created a culture of fear by encouraging citizens to report any suspicious activities, even those of their friends and family. This tactic effectively turned people against each other and ensured a high level of compliance with the regime’s policies. As one German citizen recounted, “We lived in fear of being denounced by our neighbors, friends, even our own children.”

“We had all grown used to living in a state of permanent fear, and that was why we were always so short of time. Fear is the most time-consuming activity there is.” 

– Nadezhda Mandelstam from “Hope Against Hope”

A key ingredient to creating fear is actual or perceived alienation. For authoritarian regimes, the alienation pre-planted using social means (with the threat of physical isolation). Alienation is manufactured by a combination of relentless censorship and propaganda, leaving dissenters to believe they are alone. For this reason, media control is essential to maintaining a…

​​​​​​​Trump Stuns By Saying US Is In ‘Direct’ Nuclear Talks With Iran

In a surprise statement President Trump says he has been holding “direct talks” with Iran and a “very big meeting” involving “very high-level” officials is planned for this coming Saturday.

The declaration was unexpected given that as recently as this weekend Iran repeated that it would not hold talks with Washington so long as “maximum pressure” by the White House remains in place. Tehran has also rejected that talks can happen while Trump threatens to bomb Iran.

The other surprise is the context, as Trump made the claims while hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office. The Israeli leader has applauded Trump’s return to maximum pressure, and has hinted at Israeli military action if Iran is perceived as pursuing a nuclear bomb.

“We have a very big meeting on Saturday, and we’re dealing with them directly,” Trump stated in reference to the Iranians. “You know, a lot of people say, ‘Oh, maybe you’re going through surrogates, you’re not dealing directly, you’re dealing through other countries.’ No — we’re dealing with them directly.”
In the Oval Office Monday afternoon, AFP/Getty Images

“I think everyone agrees that doing a deal would be preferable to doing the obvious. And the obvious is not something that I want to be involved with, or frankly, that Israel wants to be involved with, if they can avoid it,” Trump said, in apparent reference to a military option.

Continuing to speak about potential future strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, he continued, “So we’re going to see if we can avoid it. But it’s getting to be very dangerous territory, and hopefully those talks will be successful. And I think it would be in Iran’s best interest if they are successful.”

But Iran certainly hasn’t confirmed that direct talks have been happening. Instead, Trump could simply be anticipating talks which haven’t happened yet but are in the works in terms of preparation – though he did clearly emphasize direct talks were happening. A Monday afternoon Bloomberg report notes a fresh Iranian Foreign Ministry statement as follows:

Earlier Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said the country was waiting for a US response to what he called a “responsible, generous, and wise offer.” He added that the Gulf-Arab Sultanate of Oman, which has facilitated dialogue between Tehran and Washington in the past, is a “main candidate” to mediate talks with the US if they take place.

“The offer for direct negotiations isn’t acceptable to us for reasons repeatedly stated before, but we’re ready for indirect negotiations through Oman,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said earlier, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency. “The ball is in the US court.”

At the moment, a second US aircraft carrier is en route to the Red Sea region to support Yemen operations. The USS Carl Vinson is in the Indian Ocean, and Iran has been carefully monitoring its progress, with reports of Tehran leadership having put the Iranian armed forces on high alert.

A big problem here is that the…

The Inevitable, Just Sooner

Submitted by QTR’s Fringe Finance

Maybe President Trump’s tariffs will cause a prolonged trade war and a Great Depression in the United States the likes of which we’ve never seen before, sending the nation into a spiral of chaos and hell on earth.

But walking around outside today, three days after the tariffs were announced and barely a day after many of the minimum tariffs went into effect, life seems oddly normal.

I’m in In New York City this morning, so I took a walk around Central Park. Despite the cool, rainy weather, the park was littered with tourists taking photos, New Yorkers playing with their dogs, couples holding hands, and joggers getting in their workout for the day. Yesterday, as I went on my own run up Park Ave. at lunchtime, I watched junior bankers pour out of J.P. Morgan’s office by Grand Central Station, joking with each other, smiling and happily ordering their lunches.

If we’re in the midst of armageddon, it sure doesn’t seem like it.

So imagine my surprise today when I read that the Wall Street Journal editorial board had declared China’s Xi Jinping as the person emerging as the “winner” from President Trump’s tariffs.

President Trump’s across-the-board tariffs will change the world order in many ways, and one winner is already emerging: Xi Jinping. The Chinese President has had an excellent week.

Putting aside whether you think tariffs are a good idea or not, to me it just seems stunning to declare a “winner” barely a day after the 10% minimum tariff has gone into effect. What if China came to the table tomorrow and wanted to strike some type of deal? I’m not saying this is going to happen, but if it did, it would immediately render such a headline completely erroneous.

I don’t want to argue the merits of whether or not Trump’s tariff policy is going to yield results. I did that all day yesterday and I feel like I understand clearly the argument against his policy and how he arrived at it. We will know at some point in the future just how effective or ineffective they are going to be.

If it turns out to be a horrific idea, I will admit as much and, as I have done many times before in the past, simply state that I got it wrong. My take isn’t consequential. I’m not advising the President on trade. But just hours after these policies have gone into effect seems like an awfully minuscule amount of time to be declaring winners and losers.

Let’s get one thing straight. The vicious pushback on these tariffs is, in my opinion, completely being driven by the move in the stock market. People were marching around waving Jeremy Siegel’s quote from yesterday that the tariffs are the ‘biggest policy mistake in 95 years’ like it was handed down from God himself.

Mind you, this is the economist who, in a sheer panic 8 months ago, called for an emergency 75 basis point rate cut during the yen carry trade sell off…

 

…then was promptly neutered by analyst and…