"... It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings."....I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!"
Vice President Joe Biden’s hotel tab for his recent one-night stay in Mexico City cost taxpayers more than $500,000.
Biden, who attended an annual economic summit with Mexican leaders,
stayed at the luxury Intercontinental Presidente Hotel. Biden led a
delegation attending the summit that included Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, and Interior Secretary Sally Jewell.
The trip called for 260 hotel rooms and meeting spaces, according to a State Department contract. The total hotel tab was $538,528.65.
The government said the trip costs were justified due to security concerns and last-minute planning.
“In addition to supporting a large delegation within a short time
frame, last minute and frequent changes of itineraries for supporting
personnel often result in significant changes in how Posts work with the
vendors,” the State Department said. “With the exception of a few
trips, contracts are not permitted to be signed until the Department of
State (Post) has written confirmation from all supporting agencies,
which enables collection of funds from said agencies in the event of
cancellation.”
The amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard, flagship of the
Bonhomme Richard Amphibious Ready Group in the U.S. 7th Fleet, arrives
at a port in South Korea's southeastern coastal city of Busan on March
3, 2016. (Yonhap)
(END)
Trucks carrying South Korea's K-200 armored vehicles mobilize along a
road in the South Korean town of Yeoncheon near the border with North
Korea on Feb. 4, 2016, three days ahead of South Korea's annual Key
Resolve and Foal Eagle joint military exercises with the United States.
The drills, which will run through April 30, will be the largest ever,
the two allies have said. (Yonhap)
(END)
DEFENSE SPEND: WHERE THE MONEY WILL GO ● $195 billion to be spent over 10 years on land, sea, air, intelligence, surveillance and electronic warfare assets
Defence force budget spending to increase by $29.9 billion . AIR STRIKE $34 billion ● 72 F-35A Lightning II Joint strike fighters ● 12 E/A-18G Growlers electronic attack aircraft ● New air to air, air to surface and anti-ship missile weapons ● Integrated air and missile defence systems LAND $35 billion ● New missile armed unmanned aircraft (drones) for troop protection ● New long range rocket and artillery program ● Attack helicopters ● Upgraded M1 Abrams battle tanks ● Fleet of light armed for river and estuarine battles SEA $49 billion ● 12 new regionally superior submarines to replace Collins class ● Nine new anti-submarine warfare frigates ● 12 new offshore patrol vessels ● 7 PA-8 Poseidon spy planes bringing total to 15 ● Tactical drones to assist war ship operations ● State of the art mine defence and countermeasures ● New land based anti-ship missile system CYBER, INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, SPACE $18 billion ● 7 MQ4C Triton unmanned surveillance aircraft (drones) ● Upgrade of Jindalee over the horizon radar system ● Increased cyber defence capability ● Long range Gulfstream jets for electronic warfare FORCE STRUCTURE ●Increase of 5000 new ADF personnel to strength of 62,400
China’s top Internet regulator closed the social media accounts of an
influential retired property developer who criticized President Xi
Jinping’s campaign to tighten control over state-run media.
Sites
including Sina Corp.’s Weibo and Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s QQ were told to
shut down accounts held by Ren Zhiqiang for spreading “illegal
information” and having a “negative impact,” according to a statement
Sunday by the Cyberspace Administration of China. Ren, the former
chairman of Huayuan Property Co., is known for airing outspoken views to
his more than 37 million Weibo followers. He didn’t reply to a text
message seeking comment.
Ren is a close friend of the Communist
Party’s discipline chief Wang Qishan. He told Bloomberg News in an
interview last year that the two make frequent phone calls and meet a
few times every year. Ren stepped down as chairman of Hua Yuan Property
in 2014 and remains chairman of Beijing Huayuan Haoli Investment Co.
The
development comes days after Xi toured top media outlets in Beijing and
issued orders that they “reflect the will” of the party and “preserve
the authority of the party.” The edict represented the latest in a
series of Xi moves to centralize power and rein in dissent, including jailing reporters, detaining influential Internet commentators and passing rules to keep party members from criticizing the leadership.
Shortly
after Xi’s Feb. 19 media tour, Ren published a post on his Weibo
account criticizing the president’s assertion that the state media serve
the party, instead of the taxpayers who fund its budget. “When does the
people’s government turn into the party’s government?” he said. The
posts were deleted.
The following Monday, a news site affiliated
with Beijing’s municipal party committee published a commentary accusing
Ren of spreading “anti-Communist Party” thought. The retired developer
represented capitalist forces trying to promote Western values and
topple the party, the commentary on the site Qianlong said.
While an order targeting the social media accounts of a single individual is unusual, the Communist Party in 2013 launched a crackdown on people who use big Web followings to criticize the government.
