Unthinkable to Hit in 2013, Prepare

[Kythas]

Have the Russians actually threatened to bomb our missile sites, or do they just never let a day go by without complaining about them?

Russia has threatened to do so. If they do so, and NATO doesn't respond (which they probably wouldn't), this could embolden Putin to re-establish the Soviet empire and invade Eastern Europe, which he has stated he would like to do. If this happens, NATO would be forced to respond, and by NATO I mean the United States, as the European NATO countries have let their military forces shrink. With our attention in Europe, I could see North Korea invading the South, which would definitely engage us militarily. As we're doing that, China just may take the opportunity to take Taiwan. Iran could use the opportunity to strike Israel and close off the supply of oil. Pakistan would probably send in "peace keepers" to Afghanistan since we'd have to recommit forces to Korea/Europe. With all the military action going on around it, India would be forced to put her forces on high alert, increasing the likelihood of an incident with Pakistan, and a war between them would have a definite chance of going nuclear.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/201 ... nse-sites/

[Kythas]

If the United States officially follows the One China policy fiction, how can we be treaty bound to a country that officially doesn't exist?

The Taiwan Relations Act requires the United States "to maintain the capacity of the United States to resist any resort to force or other forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security, or the social or economic system, of the people on Taiwan."

I was apparently wrong about the US being treaty bound to defend Taiwan. I didn't realize until I just now did some research that Jimmy Carter unilaterally annulled the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty, which did bind us to Taiwan's defense. However, the Taiwan Relations Act was passed as a response to Carter doing this and, while it doesn't require the US to militarily come to Taiwan's aid, it comes very close.

[bizarrenormality]

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-m ... 8853.story" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Great Recession took such a heavy toll on the economy that the typical American family lost nearly 40% of its wealth from 2007 to 2010, shaving the median net worth to a level not seen since the early 1990s.

If we don't drastically cut government spending, it's going to get much much worse.