Putin, Hu meet in Beijing

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing today, ostensibly to discuss Syria, Iran, bilateral trade, and energy cooperation.

The U.S. has pushed Russia to join international efforts for a political transition in Syria that would see Assad driven from power.
Putin, meanwhile, has sought to use Russia's burgeoning ties with Beijing as a counterweight to U.S. global predominance, and the sides have found common cause in rejecting Western calls for more open politics and respect for civil liberties.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin told reporters on June 5 that China and Russia both "oppose external intervention in the Syrian situation and oppose regime change by force."
Both countries also oppose further sanctions against Iran over its suspected drive to develop nuclear weapons.
-Asahi

It ain't just the DEA

Oakland SWAT raided a wharehouse in East Oakland last night and seized 2,500 Marijuana plants, 50 pounds of processed pot, $40,000 in cash, two suits of body armor, six guns and several boxes of ammunition. 11 people were arrested in connection to the raid.

Investigators had been monitoring the warehouse for a long time before Wednesday night's raid because of suspicious activity there, according to police.
-Inside Bay Area

The City of Oakland is not against marijuana growers, just the ones who aren't politically-connected enough to be officially sanctioned by City Hall....i.e. they wear hoodies.

USS Enterprise just days away from its final place of anchor

That final place of anchor is...the Arabian Sea, where the Vinson and Lincoln are already anchored.

I'm sure it's perfectly normal to have 3 aircraft carriers operating in the same sea at the same time.

10 reasons why US can no longer dictate world policy

From The Economic Collapse:

1) China and Japan
2) The BRICs
3) China and Russia
4) China and Africa
5) China and UAE
6) Iran
7) China and Saudi Arabia
8) The UN
9) The IMF
10) Most of the rest of the world

Ahmadinejad says US can no longer dictate world policy

Today, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that the United States' time has passed.

"It's better to respect nations than to scare them and colonize them. The time of imperialism has long gone. Those who do not learn from the mistakes of history will be punished."
-Reuters

Speaking at a regional conference on Afghanistan, Ahmadinejad also called for the immediate withdrawal of foreign troops from the country and proposed that NATO use part of its military budget to help revive the Afghan economy.

The U.S. delegation to the conference, headed by Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake, left the hall when Ahmadinejad began to speak and returned after the conclusion of his speech.
-Reuters

Real money for an imaginary war

Here's a pretty good read on the current police state.

So much money has gone into armoring and arming local law-enforcement since 9/11 that the federal government could have rebuilt post-Katrina New Orleans five times over and had enough money left in the kitty to provide job training and housing for every one of the record 41,000-plus homeless people in New York City. It could have added in the growing population of 15,000 homeless in Philadelphia, my hometown, and still have had money to spare. Add disintegrating Detroit, Newark, and Camden to the list. Throw in some crumbling bridges and roads, too.
-Truth Out

South China Sea tensions escalating

The Philippines has invited foreign investors to explore 15 petroleum blocks in the disputed South China/Western Phlippine Sea. 38 companies have already lined up to place bids on contracts.
Needless to say, Beijing isn't happy.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Tuesday that "it is illegal for any country, government or company, without the Chinese government's permission, to develop oil and natural gas in waters under Chinese jurisdiction," China Daily reports.

But the Philippines maintains that all of the 15 areas are within Philippine territory.
-United Press International

Two of the petroleum blocks to be exploited are near Reed Bank, where Chinese warships threatened to ram a Philippine survey vessel last year, setting off the current round of tension in the resource-rich region.