That is a lot of fuel. Many people. Huge error in judgement by the USA military. Vulnerability at a time when tensions with China and Russia are at a all time high.
The American military is acting vulnerably as dipomatic fleets rather than Carrier Groups. When is Gates going to reflect the reality his Commander and Chief has placed him?
The American Military under the direction of Bush/Cheney's Executive Branch is the impetus to WW 3. Does the USA miltiary actually believe they can float into any global port on 'military steam' alone?
This is China telling the USA their fleets are not welcome in China waters except for humanitarian crisis aboard their ships. Literally, Hong Kong is no longer a 'Port-of-Call" to fueling needs of the USA and Gates hasn't got a clue? When is Gates going to tell Bush to shut his big mouth and that you simply can't say "World War 3" as if it's a strategy in a game of muscle flexing.
Sheep.
All of the Bush/Cheney cabinet are sheep to the politics and wealth of their party. The USA Executive Branch is ineffective. They have put the military in harms way. This is putting the USA Naval Fleet in harms way of a burgeoning understanding that a USA President is engaging in language using the words, World War 3.
Admiral 'Perplexed' by Snub at Hong Kong
By AUDREY McAVOY – 1 hour ago
HONOLULU (AP) — The top U.S. military commander in the Pacific said he's "perplexed and concerned" by China's last-minute decision to deny a U.S. aircraft carrier entry to Hong Kong for a previously scheduled port visit.
The USS Kitty Hawk and its escort ships were due to dock there for a four-day visit Wednesday until they were refused access. Hundreds of family members had flown to Hong Kong to spend Thanksgiving with their sailors.
"It's hard to put any kind of positive spin on this," Adm. Timothy Keating told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Thursday while flying back to the U.S. after visiting troops in Iraq. "I'm perplexed and concerned."
China later reversed its decision and said the ships could enter on humanitarian grounds, but the notice came while the vessels were already on their way back to their home ports. The vessels chose not to turn around.
Thousands of sailors aboard the Kitty Hawk and its carrier battle group marked the Thanksgiving holiday at sea.
"The crew members were disappointed, but that did not deter them from celebrating Thanksgiving on the ships with meals and movies," said Lt. Cmdr. Steven Curry, a spokesman for the 7th Fleet, which has its home port in Yokosuka, just south of Tokyo.
It was the second time in a week that China refused to let U.S. Navy ships into the port.
Two U.S. minesweepers seeking to refuel and shelter from bad weather in the South China Sea had asked for permission to enter Hong Kong three or four days before the Kitty Hawk. Those ships were denied, Keating said.
The developments come as the U.S. military has been trying to bolster ties with the Chinese military to prevent misunderstandings and the potential for miscalculation.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates visited Beijing earlier this month and high-level commanders have traveled back and forth between the two Pacific powers.
Chinese warships visited U.S. naval bases in Pearl Harbor and San Diego last year, and the two navies have since held basic search-and-rescue exercises together.
Asked if the refusal to let the Kitty Hawk into Hong Kong would hurt the U.S.-China military relationship, Keating said: "We'll keep working it of course, but it is difficult for me to characterize this in a positive light."
The admiral said he would to talk to officials at the State Department and the Pentagon to determine how to respond.
Keating, who heads the U.S. Pacific Command from its Hawaii headquarters, said he was unaware of any reason for China's decision. "It's my understanding the Chinese just said 'no,'" he said.
China has in the past barred U.S. Navy ships from Hong Kong when bilateral relations have been strained.
In recent weeks, the two sides have had disagreements over trade, Iran's nuclear program and Congress's awarding a medal to the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader whom China's Communist government considers an enemy.
Hong Kong has long been a favored port of call for the U.S. military, but Beijing's approval has been required since July 1, 1997, when Britain handed the former colony back to China.
The 46-year-old USS Kitty Hawk is the only U.S. aircraft carrier permanently deployed abroad.
Associated Press writer Eric Talmadge in Tokyo contributed to this report.
Japan looking for a safe haven from North Korea and being a sandwiched partner between China, Russia and the USA. Hello, people? This is no political game. This is seeking safe harbor. Literally.
China's naval ship leaves for first port call to Japan
Beijing (PTI): A Chinese naval ship on Wednesday left for the first ever port call to Japan amid efforts by the two countries to enhance mutual trust.
The China-made missile destroyer "Shenzhen" will visit Japan from November 28 to December 1, indicating thawing relations between the two neighbours that are occasionally tense.
The visit is aimed at promoting mutual trust and military exchange between the two counties, a senior official from the Foreign Affairs office of China's Defence Ministry said.
On an invitation from the Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force, the ship today left from Zhanjiang, a port city in South China's Guangdong Province, the official Xinhua news agency said.
During its stay in Japan, Chinese naval officials and soldiers will conduct military exchange and entertainment activities with their counterparts from the Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force, it said.
Real reason to ditch the USA Currency as a stable trading partner. While playing politics at OPEC, Iran and Venezuela wants to use a pool of currency for oil trading. But, the reality is that Saudi Arabia stood up for the USA dollar while eyeing the possiblity of doing exactly that.
The Euro is more attractive than the USA dollar as a potential currency for oil trading. That means come December 5th when the oil ministers of OPEC meet again, the USA will not only have to pay the highest oil prices on record, but, in an exchange rate system that will increase the cost when forced to trade in Euros.
That means a barrel of oil to the USA won't be $100 anymore, it will be $149.00 per barrel when exchanging FIRST the USA dollar for the Euro in the oil trading market. Hello? Anyone out there? Bush/Cheney has buoyed their economy on 'favors' by countries they can strong arm. Those countries are pushing back now. The Bush/Cheney economy is destined to collapse. Has too. To much "W"rong and too much continues to be "W"rong.
The one to one exchange rate would dictate that higher price to American consumers as well as the long term stability of the Euro. The Euro has been gaining in value against the USA Dollar since 2001. If OPEC were to charge in Euros their income would not degrade on a world market and the sustained value of the oil they traded would result in long term increases as the USA dollar continued to fall. Eventually the oil would hit 100 Euros easily as the currency of choice. Once OPEC switches to the Euro as it's perferred currency, the Euro's value would increase all the more. It could literally cost as much as $200 US Dollars in a short period of time for a barrel of oil. Easily.
The USA Consumer was warned to find a better alternative to the internal combustion engine. Better alternatives to energy production. Better alternatives to transportation. No one took it seriously. The USA economy for it's negligence to evolve will collapse. It's antiquated and oil heavy. Complete stupidity.
Dollar hits record low vs euro, yen slips back (click here)
By Satomi Noguchi
TOKYO, Nov 22 (Reuters) - The dollar hit a record low against the euro and a basket of currencies on Thursday as expectations for a further Federal Reserve interest rate cut were reinforced by the central bank's projection that U.S. economic growth will slow next year.
But the dollar fared better against the yen, pushing up from a 2-½ year low hit the previous day. The yen's rally on risk aversion ran out of steam as Japanese shares held their ground despite a slide in U.S. equities on Wednesday.
Traders said further sharp currency moves were likely in the near term because of thin liquidity, as U.S. markets are closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday and may be lightly staffed on Friday. Japanese financial markets will be closed on Friday for a national holiday.
"The market is now closely watching what the authorities in Japan and Europe have to say about their rising currencies as the yen approaches the psychologically key 105 yen (against the dollar) and the euro nears $1.50," said Kengo Suzuki, a currency strategist at Shinko Securities.
The dollar rose to 108.99 yen pulling away from the 2-½ year low of 108.25 yen hit on electronic trading platform EBS on Wednesday.
Buying by Japanese institutional investors helped boost the dollar versus the yen, traders said.
The euro hit a record high of $1.4873 on EBS earlier in the day. It later trimmed its gains to stand at $1.4860 steady from late U.S. trading.
The dollar index, which measures the dollar's value against a basket of major currencies, hit a record low of 74.916
The dollar remained close to an all-time low struck earlier against the Swiss franc at 1.1006 francs on EBS....
