A sitting target in space for Russia’s anti-satellite weapons? (Source thehill.com) U.S. Space Command (USSPACECOM) has revealed evidence that Russia conducted a space-based anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon test on July 15. This is but the latest in a growing number of counter-space capability tests conducted by an ever-expanding number of countries, and flies in the face of our nation’s policy to not weaponize space. It is time to face reality. With Russia, China and other countries moving to weaponize it, space is now a warfighting domain. The United States must ensure the organizations it recently stood up to deter and, if necessary, to defeat an adversary’s hostile use of space — the U.S. Space Force and USSPACECOM — have the necessary resources to fulfill their vital missions.

As dollar slides, some investors fret about its status as world’s reserve currency (Source Reuters)

Some investors are worried the U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic is dealing a body blow to the dollar, potentially accelerating what has so far been a slow erosion in the greenback’s status as the world’s dominant reserve currency. Investors and analysts are among those who have warned that massive U.S. government spending in recent months could hurt the dollar. Rock-bottom U.S. interest rates for the foreseeable future and concerns over a potential rise in inflation are denting the dollar’s appeal. These factors are already weighing on the dollar, which stands 9% below its high of the year and notched its worst monthly performance in a decade in July. Some analysts are also worried the surge in U.S. government spending will eventually spur inflation, hurting the U.S. currency’s buying power. Goldman Sachs commodities research analysts recently wrote that the spending could lead to problems for the dollar, especially if policymakers decided to let inflation drift higher to pay down massive budget shortfalls even after economic growth steadies. As a result, “real concerns around the longevity of the U.S. dollar as a reserve currency have started to emerge,” they wrote.

Army to Speed Up Testing of Planned Hypersonic Missile (Source military.com)

The lieutenant general overseeing the Army‘s hypersonic weapons program said the service will soon accelerate testing of the ultra-fast missile effort to compete with Russia and China in the race to field the deadly new technology. In a joint effort with the Navy, the Army has been designing the Common-Hypersonic Glide Body, which will be used by all U.S. services, and is preparing to transition it to the defense industry, which will mass produce the technology. The Army will soon begin ramping up the testing schedule so it can field the first operational hypersonic missile battery by fiscal 2023, Lt. Gen. Neil Thurgood, director of Hypersonics, Directed Energy, Space, and Rapid Acquisition, said Wednesday during a Defense News space and missile defense webinar. “The flight test program is very aggressive, and we need to be aggressive in order to keep on case and be competitive with our near-peer competitors, namely Russia and China,” he said.

The U.S. Empire Is Ending? A Turning Point in World History (Source globalresearch.ca)

On July 26th, Germany’s Die Welt (The World) Sunday newspaper headlined “USA threatens German Nord Stream 2 contractors” and reported that, “The construction of the Russian Nord Stream 2 pipeline has long been a thorn in the US’s side. Now they are increasing the pressure on German and European companies involved in the project — and announce sanctions. German politicians are outraged.”

The U.S. regime is demanding that Germany cut pipelined gas from Russia and replace it with far costlier gas from U.S. fracking companies, which are facing hard economic times and are desperate to increase their exports. For the very first time, the U.S. regime is so desperate to crush Russia, as to endanger America’s continued alliance with Europe and especially with Germany. This is unprecedented, and must be marked as a turning-point in post-World-War-II history, because if the U.S. empire ends up losing Germany, then it will cause the end of America’s anti-Russia military alliance, NATO, and maybe even the end of America’s anti-Russia diplomatic and economic alliance, the EU. On June 30th, Germany’s Handelsblatt newspaper had bannered “Former Chancellor Schröder: USA Ending Transatlantic Partnership”. and reported that “Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder has condemned possible new US sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline as ‘deliberate termination of the transatlantic partnership’.” Germany’s mainstream — and ruling — conservative Party, the CDU/CSU, is rejecting the U.S. regime for its imposing “a clear violation of everything we understand by commercial law,” and German industry is more bluntly asserting the broader reality, that the U.S. regime’s demand is “a clear encroachment on European sovereignty.”

Charleston hotel, three local restaurants rank among the best in the world (Source counton2.com)

You won’t need to travel too far to visit one of the best hotels or restaurants in the United States.

TripAdvisor released its annual Travelers’ Choice Awards which showcases the best in travel for 2020 – the list highlights the best hotels, restaurants, and airlines in the country.

Charleston is home to the #1 top over hotel in the country and has three restaurants in the top 10 fine dining restaurants in the country. The French Quarter Inn was ranked #1 in the country and #24 in the world. Hall’s Chophouse ranked #3, Charleston Grill ranked #9, and Peninsula Grill came in at #10 for best restaurants.

Russia and China Are Catching Up on Hypersonic Missiles Amid US Neglect, Expert Says

(Source military.com)  Russian President Vladimir Putin boasted Sunday of nearing deployment of nuclear-tipped hypersonic missiles with his Navy, upping the ante in a three-way arms race with the U.S. and China to develop super-fast missiles that can penetrate any existing defensive system.

At the annual naval parade in St. Petersburg, Putin did not detail specifically when hypersonic missiles would be deployed, but the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that the weapons are in the final stages of testing. “The widespread deployment of advanced digital technologies that have no equals in the world, including hypersonic strike systems and underwater drones, will give the fleet unique advantages and increased combat capabilities,” Putin said. China has also made significant advances in hypersonics, according to Dr. Mark Lewis, director of Defense Research and Engineering for Modernization at the Defense Department. Last October, Chinese President Xi Jinping presided at a military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. During the parade, a purported vehicle-mounted DF-17 hypersonic nuclear missile was displayed. At a June 30 Hudson Institute discussion, Lewis said both China and Russia have taken advantage of a lull in U.S. modernization to make advances in what he called the “game changer” technology of hypersonics. “I’m often accused of saying speed is the new stealth,” he said, stressing the need for more focus and investment on hypersonics. Stealth properties make bombers and fighters difficult to track, but hypersonic missiles traveling at speeds well in excess of Mach 5 mean that “you see me a little bit too late to do anything,” Lewis said. The advantage of hypersonic missiles is usually “thought of only as speed,” he explained, adding that it’s actually speed plus the ability to change trajectory, giving the missiles the capability of “penetrating from long ranges with tremendous resilience.”

Iran missiles target fake carrier as US bases go on alert (Source Associated Press)

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard launched missiles Tuesday targeting a mock aircraft carrier in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a drill that included such a barrage of fire the U.S. military temporarily put two regional bases in the Mideast on alert amid tensions between the two countries.

The drill — and the American response to it — underlined the lingering threat of military conflict between Iran and the U.S. after a series of escalating incidents last year led to an American drone strike killing a top Iranian general in Baghdad. Tehran responded to that strike by firing ballistic missiles that wounded dozens of American forces in Iraq. While the coronavirus pandemic has engulfed both Iran and the U.S. for months, there has been a growing confrontation as America argues to extend a yearslong U.N. weapons embargo on Tehran that is due to expire in October. A recent incident over Syria involving an American jet fighter approaching an Iranian passenger plane also has renewed tensions.

Iranian commandos fast-roped down from a helicopter onto the replica in the footage aired Tuesday from the exercise called “Great Prophet 14.” Anti-aircraft guns opened fire on a target drone near the port city of Bandar Abbas. State television footage also showed a variety of missiles being fired from fast boats, trucks, mobile launchers and a helicopter, some targeting the fake carrier. A commander said the Guard, a force answerable only to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, planned to fire “long-range ballistic missiles” as well during the drill that will continue Wednesday. Ballistic missile fire detected from the drill resulted in American troops being put on alert at Al-Dhafra Air Base in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates and Al-Udeid Air Base, the forward headquarters of the U.S. military’s Central Command in Qatar, the military said. Troops sought cover during that time. “The incident lasted for a matter of minutes and an all clear was declared after the threat … had passed,” said U.S. Army Maj. Beth Riordan, a Central Command spokeswoman. Both bases are hundreds of kilometers (miles) away from where Iran put the replica aircraft carrier.