China wants to beat USA and Russia in development of stealth fighter jets

China's J-31 aircraft took off for its maiden flight on October 31, 2012. China's first stealth fighter jet, the J-20, was officially adopted by the Air Force of the People's Liberation Army of China (PLA) in 2017. Interestingly, no information about the J-31 has been released ever since. Experts assumed that the J-31 was originally a stillborn project, an expensive PR campaign to demonstrate the scientific potential of Shenyang Aircraft Corporation - the maker of the aircraft. The Chinese government did not finance the project, and Shenyang Aircraft Corporation was developing it on its own initiative and at its own expense.

Source: Wikipedia/CC BY-SA 4.0

The J-31 was announced as a breakthrough development. China announced its performance details suggesting that the jet would be made for export. Attentive bloggers later concluded that the J-31 was going to be designed as a deck-based aircraft: they saw photos of the aircraft with reinforced front gear. In early 2017, however, the J-31 disappeared from media field.

In early July, Sun Kong, the chief designer of the aircraft, said that the work on the fighter continued as usual. China is planning to launch the serial production of the J-31 in 2020.

The work on the J-31 indicates China's intention to copy the experience of the United States. At first, China designed the large J-20 fighter jet and then proceeded to the development of the smaller J-31. The US Air Force operates the F-22 jet, which complements the F-35. China's J-20 was not designed for exports, just like the USA's F-22. The J-31 is an export aircraft, the price of which will fluctuate at around $70 million. This makes the J-31 nearly the only option on the market of stealth fighters. No other country can offer a stealth fighters at such a price.

Unlike the F-35, the J-31 has two engines. The flight performance of the J-31 looks a lot better. The maximum speed of the J-31 makes up 2,200 km/h vs. 1,930 km/h of the F-35. As for the size, there is no big difference between the two jets. The length of the J-31 is 16.9 meters, its wing span is 11.5 meters, the maximum take-off weight is 25 tons, and the payload weight - 8 tons. The service ceiling of the J-31 is 18,200 meters, whereas its range - 1,200 kilometers. The service life of the Chinese fighter makes up 30 years. It is worthy of note that China replaced Russian RD-93 engines with Chinese-made WS-13E engines. Thus, Russia will not be able to interfere into China's plans to sell its product to foreign countries.

Noteworthy, China has become the second country in the world, the Air Force of which operates  two types of stealth fighters. One is left to wonder whether "made in China" fighter jets can indeed be superior to their Russian and American competitors.

Also read:

China suddenly builds sixth-generation fighter jet with Russia's help

Russia infuriated with Chinese export copies of Su-27 jet fighters

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Japan: Ban ivory trade or we boycott Olympics

Japan: Ban ivory trade or we boycott Olympics

It is 2019, and time the people of the world united on ethics and global common values. Protecting our environment and what lives in it must be a red line.

Japan's cynical manipulations over whaling, inventing excuses to slaughter these wonderful animals in the name of science, while whale meat piles up in Japanese supermarkets, are well known. What is less known is the Japanese dolphin drive hunt in Taiji. Boats line up at sea, driving the dolphins into the cove, where they are hacked to death by machete-wielding savages, grinning all over their faces as the sea becomes a bloodbath, the terrified animals gasping for air through the hole caused by chopping off their beaks.

Twenty-two thousand dolphins murdered every year

Every year around twenty-two thousand dolphins are slaughted by the Japanese. While the rest of the world treats dolphins with love and respect, the Japanese hack their beaks off and leave them floundering in the sea, before they are hacked to pieces and sold as meat.

Japan, the leader in the world ivory trade

So it comes as no surprise to find out that Japan is the world's leader in the ivory trade. Tens of thousands of elephants are literally hacked to death every year in Africa, for the tusks to be sawn out of the still living body, the living carcass left to die slowly, be eaten by hyenas and left to rot. Often the matriarch is killed, leaving the baby elephants to fend for themselves, surrounded by predators, terrified and defenceless before they suffer a horrific death.

All to satisfy the human filth in Japan, the world's leading ivory trader. Over the years, around two hundred and fifty thousand, a quarter of a million, elephants have been murdered to fuel Japan's ivory trade. As usual, Japan's answer is to produce cynical arguments that the only ivory for sale in Japanese ivory markets is legal ivory (harvested before 1990, when the international trade of ivory was banned) and a claim that a new law demanding that all tusks be subjected to carbon dating means that it will not be possible to sell illegal ivory. But this law, which came into force on July 1st 2017, does not cater for the 170 tons of elephant tusks present in Japan before 2017. Furthermore it only applies to whole, uncut tusks, not carved tusks which have already been worked before coming into Japan.

Japanese environmental activists, and there are many, have been the first to speak out against these cynical measures and claim that they will not halt or dent Japan's ivory trade. This is backed up by the fact that there have never been more pieces of carved ivory in Japan than there are today.

The only way forward is for Japan to man up, get real and ban its domestic ivory trade, stop murdering whales and cease its barbaric annual slaughter of dolphins, then perhaps the rest of humankind might regard the Japanese as human beings. Although most Japanese do not engage in these activities, those that do, get the country tarred with the same brush: how can a democratically elected government stand back and do nothing about these barbaric practices unless the public at large does not care? What is the position of the Japanese royal family?

People in 2019 no longer stand back and shrug, they no longer passively consider the authorities as having the right to do whatever they want. Today, people get involved, they take an interest and they can network. So today the people have the power to implement global collective ethical values. In Japan's case we can start by boycotting all Japanese goods and by holding to account those who buy them, not through illegal means but by informing them that by buying Japanese goods they are colluding with a country that shows a total disregard for the environment and which is directly responsible for the eventual extinction of the elephants.

We can follow this up with the Olympics and the Olympic participants, for the 2020 Games will be held in Japan. The five rings of the Olympic Games banner represent the five continents and the Olympic Charter speaks about ethics and setting examples. Slaughtering whales based upon barefaced lies, hacking dolphins to death and being responsible for the endangered status of elephants is surely not what the Olympic Movement is about and how dare Japan hoist that flag when it carries out these outdated acts of cruelty?

Therefore suppose we all hold our National Olympic Committees to account, forcing them to make statements on the ethical questions involved in Japan's behavior and take a firm stand, refusing to participate in the Japan Olympics unless Japan bans the domestic ivory trade? Supposing our athletes took a stand and spoke out against these outrages? Or does nobody care?

Photo 1: By Thomas Breuer - In the Shadows of the Congo Basin Forest, Elephants Fall to the Illegal Ivory Trade Gross L PLoS Biology Vol. 5, No. 4, e115 doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0050115Available online here and here, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2507332

Photo 2: The author in 2018

Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey

Twitter: @TimothyBHinchey

timothy.hinchey@gmail.com

Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey works in the area of teaching, consultancy, coaching, translation, revision of texts, copy-writing and journalism. Director and Chief Editor of the Portuguese version of Pravda.Ru since 2002, and now Co-Editor of the English version, he contributes regularly to several other publications in Portuguese and English. He has worked in the printed and online media, in daily, weekly, monthly and yearly magazines and newspapers. A firm believer in multilateralism as a political approach and multiculturalism as a means to bring people and peoples together, he is Official Media Partner of UN Women, fighting for gender equality and Media Partner with Humane Society International, promoting animal rights. His hobbies include sports, in which he takes a keen interest, traveling, networking to protect the rights of LGBTQI communities and victims of gender violence, and cataloging disappearing languages, cultures and traditions around the world. A keen cook, he enjoys trying out different cuisines and regards cooking and sharing as a means to understand cultures and bring people together.

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Russia wonders why Germany still wants to justify Nazism

The Public Chamber of the Russian Federation intends to appeal to the UN Security Council to report "another fact of history falsification" after German journalist Sven Felix Kellerhoff called to demolish the Victory Monument on the Prokhorovka field.

Photo: Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-022-2950-15A / Wolff/Altvater / CC-BY-SA 3.0

Elena Sutormina, the chairperson of the Public Chamber commission on the development of public diplomacy, humanitarian cooperation and preservation of traditional values, said that the UN adopted a resolution in 2018 to struggle against the glorification of Nazism. More than 130 countries of the world supported the resolution, because they realize that falsification of history revives extremist ideologies, contributes to xenophobia, intolerance and incites international strife.
"I believe that the person said that on purpose, because in a few days we will mark the 76th anniversary of the Battle of Prokhorovka. This is a provocation. An appropriate reaction should follow accordingly," the official said.

On July 9, Sven Felix Kellerhoff, editor of the historical section of the German newspaper Die Welt, said making references to historical documents that there was no triumph for the Red Army in the "biggest tank battle of World War II" near Prokhorovka on July 12, 1943. Based on this assumption, the journalist suggested that the Victory Monument (the bell tower on the Prokhorovka field, topped with the gilded figure of the Virgin Mary), "could in fact be demolished."

The subjunctive mood that the journalist used in his inappropriate statement triggered an international scandal. Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on June 6 of 2019, made it clear that no events of the Second World War could be changed. "Revising the results of the war, demolishing monuments to Soviet soldiers ... this is a disgrace. It is disgusting," the Russian President said.

Russia's Minister for Culture Vladimir Medinsky called the article of the German journalist "a blasphemous step full of false theses."

Russian MPs called on Germany to initiate a criminal case against the editor of Die Welt newspaper, noting that otherwise it would become Germany's tacit consent with those who try to justify and glorify Nazism.

The Battle of Prokhorovka was fought on 12 July 1943 near the station of Prokhorovka, near Kursk in the Soviet Union, during WWII. Taking place on the Eastern Front, the engagement was part of the wider Battle of Kursk, and occurred when the 5th Guards Tank Army of the Soviet Red Army attacked the II SS-Panzer Corps of the German Wehrmacht in one of the largest tank battles in military history.

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Bee flu reaches Russia, heralds major global food crisis

It is an open secret that bees play a highly important role in our life, even though we may not even notice that. Bees take part in the pollination of crops that give mankind a third of all food resources. Other insects take part in the pollination as well, but bees are responsible for up to 90 percent of the process. Albert Einstein said once: "If the bee disappeared off the face of Earth, man would only have four years left to live."

The crops that bring us most of our food provide for 35 percent of calorie intake, as well as for most minerals, vitamins and antioxidants. Nuts, melons and berries will not grow without pollinating insects. Bees also pollinate citrus fruits, apples, onions, broccoli cabbage, zucchini, beans, peppers, eggplants, cucumbers, tomatoes, beans, coffee, cocoa, avocados and coconuts. The production of these crops belongs to most valuable segments of the global food industry. Thus, the disappearance of bees from our planet will at first trigger a major food crisis that humanity has never seen before.

Scientists started registering the process of the mass extinction of bees all over the world in 2006. In the USA, up to 30 percent of bee colonies die every winter. Over the past 50 years, the production of bee-dependent agricultural products has quadrupled, but the number of bee colonies has halved.  The quantity of bees per hectare has decreased by 90 percent.

The phenomenon became known as Colony Collapse Disorder or "bee flu." Europe loses 20 percent  of bee colonies every year, and once can observe a similar trend in the USA and Asia. As for Russia, the Russian Ministry for Agriculture reported that bees die out massively in several regions of the country.

Representatives of the Ministry for Agriculture of the Russian Federation said that due to the high bee mortality in a number of regions of the country, the beekeeping industry suffered a significant material damage. The scale of the disaster is still difficult to assess. The cause of the death of insects remains unclear too.

Over the past ten years, the number of bee colonies in Russia has decreased by almost 20 percent. The problem is not about financial losses that beekeepers incur - the problem is about the possible food crisis that may strike the whole world.

In the summer of 2019 in Russia, mass bee mortality was recorded in the Tatarstan republic, in the republic of Bashkortostan, in Bryansk, Voronezh, Lipetsk, Kursk, Ulyanovsk, Moscow, Tula, Nizhny Novgorod, Ryazan, Rostov, Saratov, Smolensk regions, in Mordovia, Udmurtia, Mari El, Krasnodar, Altai, Stavropol and other regions.

Specialists started looking into the problem, but the research will take months. However, scientists already say that bees die on a massive scale because of the use of pesticides and herbicides on agricultural fields. To make matters worse, authorities do not inform beekeepers about the time, place and peculiarities of the chemical treatment of crops.

Over the recent years, scientists have recorded a rapid decline in the number of domestic and wild bees, as well as many other insects, including butterflies, on all inhabited continents. Over the past five-ten years, the population of wild bees has decreased by 25-30 percent, whereas the quantity of domestic bees in the United States halved in 2015.

It is worthy of note that the population of monarch butterflies and cabbage butterflies in the United States has mysteriously declined by about a third during the last 25 years.

In addition to humans and global warming, the population of bees and butterflies decreases because of new viral infections and parasites, such as Varroa mites, as well as herbicides and pesticides that change the behaviour of insects or their development program.

The quantity of 75 percent of lepidopteran insect species living in the north of the United States has been declining for 25 years. Over the past 40 years, their population has dropped by 45 percent, which is higher than in Europe and other parts of the world.

A report from the United Nations said that bees disappear eight times faster than mammals, birds and reptiles. Agriculture, mining and manufacturing industries make our life comfortable, but these industries require deforestation and swamp drainage. These activities destroy natural ecosystems, pollute the atmosphere, the world's oceans and contribute to global warming.

Germany, France and Italy already banned certain types of pesticides. In the UK, they revise rules for the use of pesticides after it was found that they can impair the memory and immunity of the bee. At the same time, mankind can no longer exist without fertilisers. The population of the Earth grows by 70 million people every year. To crown it all, the USA, Argentina and the EU use a significant amount of their grain harvests for the production of biofuels for eco-friendly cars.

Some experts blame cellular communication systems. It was established that the population of bees decreases noticeably in places where cell towers are installed. However, bees avoid any other type of hostile energy, whether it goes about cell towers, power lines or any other radiation.

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Iran, Hezbollah Preparing to Attack Israel?

Iran, Hezbollah Preparing to Attack Israel?

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)

The last time Israel was preemptively attacked by anyone was at the start of the October 1973 Yom Kippur war, never since then. Its only threats are invented ones, the same true for the US and NATO.

Throughout their history, Iran and Hezbollah never preemptively attacked anyone, nor does any evidence suggest their intention to go this way now. 

In sharp contrast, the US, NATO, and Israel repeatedly attack other nations aggressively, including over 70 years of undeclared Israeli war on defenseless Palestinians - supported by the US.

In late June, Netanyahu suggested that Israel may attack Iran's (legitimate) nuclear facilities preemptively - something similar to its 1981 strike on an Iraqi nuclear reactor under construction southeast of Baghdad.

The move if taken could spark Iranian retaliation, risking the escalation of things to regional war. It's highly unlikely that Netanyahu would preemptively attack Iran without US permission, though nothing can be ruled out.

"Whatever happens, Israel will always defend itself, and the air force plays a major role in this," Netanyahu roared at a late June graduation ceremony for IDF pilots.

He repeated the Big Lie claim about Iran "threatening the destruction of Israel," adding: IDF warplanes "can reach every place in the Middle East, including Iran and, certainly, Syria."

Israeli military intelligence-connected DEBKAfile (DF) lied, claiming Iran "returned to upgrading uranium enrichment to levels approaching weapons grade."

Currently at 4.5% purity level, possibly heading up to 20%, it's nowhere near the 90% level required to develop and produce nukes - nor does any evidence suggest Tehran intends going this far, just the opposite.

DF also cited fabricated reports that "Tehran has completed preparations for a military strike on Israel from Syria," adding:

"According to different (unnamed) sources, Hizballah and a pro-Iranian Iraqi Shiite militia are involved in these war preparations."

Separately in late June, IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus falsely Hezbollah of concealing over 100,000 missiles and rockets "behind Lebanese civilians...all of them aimed at our civilians," adding:

"The aim of (these weapons is to) fire them at the Iranian orders at our civilians..."

Accusations without verifiable evidence are baseless. Time and again, Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, and other Palestinian resistance groups were falsely accused of threatening Israeli security when reality is the other way around.

Iranian and Hezbollah weapons are solely for defense. US, NATO, and Israeli military preparedness is for naked aggression - the real regional and global threat.

Their ruling authorities repeatedly accuse targeted nations and people of crimes committed against them - the blame game justifying what's unjustifiable.

Ignoring their own breach of the JCPOA, prompting Iran to invoke its Article 26 and 36 right to increase the amount and purity of enriched uranium to pre-agreement levels, Britain, France,  Germany, and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini falsely accused Tehran of "pursuing activities inconsistent with its commitments" under the deal, adding:

"These compliance issues must be addressed within the framework of the JCPOA, and a Joint Commission should be convened urgently."

"Iran has stated that it wants to remain within the JCPOA. It must act accordingly by reversing these activities and returning to full JCPOA compliance without delay."

Europe breached its JCPOA obligations. Iran's actions comply with its terms. Its officials clearly said they'll reverse actions taken if Europe fulfills its commitments as required - what it hasn't done and shows no signs of changing its policy, supporting the Trump regime's illegal pullout instead of breaking with its unacceptable actions.

On Wednesday, Iran's envoy to China Mohammad Keshavarzzadeh said his nation's ruling authorities are committed to the JCPOA - proportionate to actions by European signatories, adding:

Unlawful US actions in recent decades destroyed multilateral international diplomacy, including a destructive blow to the JCPOA and Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Separately, the Trump regime intends forming a military alliance to protect commercial vessels in waters bordering Iran and Yemen.

The only threats to ships using these channels is from aggression by the US and its imperial partners - clearly not from Iran, Syria and their allies.

Note: On Wednesday July 10, the IAEA will hold a meeting on the JCPOA, requested by the Trump regime.

If he addresses the issue accurately, director Yukiya Amano should stress that Iran remains in compliance to its JCPOA obligations while the US, Britain, France, Germany, and the EU breached theirs.

VISIT MY NEW WEB SITE: stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman). Contact at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

My newest book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Photo: By Fars News Agency, CC BY 4.0, https://ift.tt/2YKcf6V

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