DTN News: Airlines News TODAY October 6, 2009 ~ AirAsia Delays Delivery Of Another 8 Airbus Planes

DTN News: Airlines News TODAY October 6, 2009 ~ AirAsia Delays Delivery Of Another 8 Airbus Planes

*Source: DTN News / Airbus

(NSI News Source Info) KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - October 6, 2009: Low-cost carrier AirAsia will delay delivery of eight Airbus A320-200 aircraft due for 2011 by three years, an official said Monday. This is the second time in three months that AirAsia has deferred delivery of planes. In July, it slashed planned deliveries of eight A320 planes due for 2010. AirAsia will now defer a third or 16 out of 48 plane deliveries scheduled over the next two years, as the global economic crisis takes a toll on Southeast Asia's largest budget carrier. "We will defer eight of the 24 deliveries for 2011. We got the deferment from Airbus," AirAsia Chief Executive Tony Fernandes told The Star. All the planes will now be delivered in 2014, he said. Fernandes couldn't be immediately reached. An AirAsia official confirmed Fernandes' comments but couldn't give further details. The airline has firm orders for 175 Airbus A320 single-aisle planes, to be delivered up to 2014, as part of fleet replacement and expansion. Sixty-three of the planes have been delivered so far. Analysts said the delayed deliveries would help ease the financial burden on AirAsia. Although it benefited from the economic downturn as passengers sought bargain fares, revenue per seat has remained soft and a real travel recovery isn't expected any time soon, they said. "We view this as a positive development. AirAsia is matching capacity or fleet size closer to industry demand trend," said Muhamad Khair Mirza, an analyst with Aseambankers. Fernandes also attributed the plane deferment to concerns that a new 2 billion ringgit ($578 million) low-cost air terminal to be built in Malaysia may not be completed on time by late 2011, the Star said. AirAsia was concerned about its ability to continuing growing because the existing terminal can accommodate only 15 million people annually and has insufficient aircraft parking bays. The new terminal, which will be located nearby the main Kuala Lumpur International Airport, will have an initial capacity to handle 30 million passengers a year, which can be expanded to 45 million people, as well as 70 aircraft parking bays.

DTN News: Bradley Fighting Vehicle Improved Version Be Larger, Stronger And Versatile For U.S. Army

DTN News: Bradley Fighting Vehicle Improved Version Be Larger, Stronger And Versatile For U.S. Army

*Source: DTN News / Defense Media (NSI News Source Info) - October 6, 2009: The U.S. Army is in the early phases of planning a bigger, more-survivable and more mobile 35-ton Block II Bradley Fighting Vehicle. The aim of the Block II Bradley is to preserve and build upon the survivability enhancements added to the vehicle over the years. ( Staff Sgt. Suzanne M. Day / U.S. Air Force) The Block II Bradley will be designed to possibly add greater ground-clearance for blast protection, a stronger 800-horsepower engine and include a host of additional upgrades built into the vehicle, service and industry officials said. "The original Bradley was fast and maneuverable," said Roy Perkins, Heavy Brigade Combat Team director, BAE Systems. "It could swim. As part of the survivability packages we put belly armor underneath it. We put all of these additional armor packages on it and we did the hot box [Kevlar protective lining for 25mm ammo stored in the floor of the vehicle]. All the extra weight made the Bradley a little bit slower, a little bit less maneuverable. The Block II is designed to buy that back. "As part of the Block II program they are looking at a bigger engine, a bigger chassis and externally storing the fuel tanks. Right now the fuel tanks are stored internally. We might possibly modify the chassis." Decisions on a bigger engine or larger chassis have not officially been made. A bigger hull would enable the Bradley to ride higher off the ground, Perkins said. "The new chassis will raise the Bradley back up. Bradley's magic number is about 18 inches [off the ground]. We are about 11 right now but if we can get up to 18 we will have the same or better mine protections than MRAP," said Perkins. While seeking to add greater mobility and ground clearance, the aim of the Block II will be to preserve and build upon the survivability enhancements added to the vehicle over the years. The Bradley Urban Survivability Kit (BUSK) III expands on earlier versions which included underbelly armor, reactive armor tiles, transparent armor ballistic gunners kit, the hot box and blast attenuated seats. It would add armor protection to the turret floor, a manual release lever for the back ramp, and fuel cell technology aimed at preventing secondary fires in the case of an attack. The Army plans to blast-test new fuel cell casings for the fuel tanks at Aberdeen Proving Grounds later this month. "We've tapped into the aviation community and are using the same fuel cell technology, which includes self-sealing bladders. Before, they were plastic and they were cracking," said Army Lt. Col. Bill Sheehy, Bradley program manager. "At Aberdeen we will use real fuel and see how it reacts under the stress of an event." The BUSK and Block II Bradley programs are aimed at upgrading the vehicle to serve for several more decades. "We're looking at maintaining the Bradley family for the next 20 years - the Army is looking to optimize the size, weight and power," said Mike Hogan, director of business development, vice president of business development, BAE's U.S. Combat Systems.

DTN News: China TODAY October 6, 2009 ~ China at 60 No More Excuses For Growing Rich-Poor Gap

DTN News: China TODAY October 6, 2009 ~ China at 60 No More Excuses For Growing Rich-Poor Gap

*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media by John Lee

(NSI News Source Info) BEIJING, China - October 6, 2009: Blaming Mao's chaotic years for the slow pace of reform is wearing thin as the vast majority of Chinese remain poor while their leaders grow more powerful. A hot air balloon helped locals in Wuhan celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. It has been 60 years since Mao Zedong told his people on Oct. 1, 1949, that "the Chinese people have stood up" and declared the founding of the People's Republic of China. Anniversaries are usually arbitrary passing points in time carrying little true significance, but this one isn't. Leaders from Deng Xiaoping onward have been telling the world that China is assiduously laying the groundwork for political reform and eventually democracy-but only after it recovers from the chaos and destruction of the Mao years. Yet with China now in the midst of a weeklong holiday to celebrate the anniversary, the reform period since Deng Xiaoping took power will be nearing the completion of its 30th year -- exactly half the age of modern China. The reform period will have exceeded Mao Zedong's 27 years of terrible rule. In reality, China's leaders have been deliberately moving further away from any fundamental reform, and using the excuse of Mao is wearing thin. China watchers generally caution against agitating for democracy in China on both diplomatic and practical grounds. To be sure, doing so would enrage Beijing and make any constructive bilateral relationship difficult. On practical grounds, there is no guarantee that under current conditions, one-person-one-vote would bring greater freedom and prosperity rather than more chaos and even a reversion to socialism. But this in no way absolves Beijing from blame. For even though democracy may not suit China right now, the country desperately needs the building of institutions that would both immeasurably improve the lives of its citizens and most likely deliver a sound platform for fundamental political reform and, eventually, democracy. First things first: Why does the building of institutions that might lead to democracy matter in China? Because in one important respect, authoritarian China is failing: While the Chinese state is rich and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) powerful, civil society is weak and the vast majority of people remain poor. The health, wealth, and well-being of Beijing and the Party are not the same as that of its people. Since the 1990s, what is good for the Chinese state is no longer automatically good for the vast majority of its people. Growing Power of Communist Party How then do we establish the best possible conditions that will eventually lead to greater political reforms that benefit the Chinese people? We need a strong civil society where there is rule of law. Courts need to be independent and officials need to be accountable. Private property needs to be protected, individual enterprise needs to be given a chance to succeed, basic human rights must be enforced, and the government needs to be restrained. This is the meaning of just and decent rule for the Chinese people. These are the foundations for a just society that are sorely lacking in modern-day China. China has grown sixteenfold since reforms began. But in the absence of effective institutions that restrain the discretionary powers of CCP officials and render them accountable for their actions, it is the state and the CCP that grows stronger rather than the Chinese people and civil society. Many problems in modern China begin with the increased role of the Chinese Communist Party in Chinese economy and society. Tellingly, the number of officials before and after the Tiananmen protests has more than doubled, from 20 million to 45 million. Since the early 1990s, the CCP has retaken control of the economy. State-controlled enterprises receive more than three-quarters of the country's entire capital each year, reversing the situation prior to 1989. The private sector, on the other hand, is denied both formal capital (bank loans) and access to the most lucrative markets, which are reserved for the state-controlled sector. Only about 50 of the 1,400 listed companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges are genuinely private. Fewer than 50 of the 1,000 richest people in China are not linked to the Party. This state-corporatist model favors a relatively small number of well-placed insiders. Rise in Corruption Meanwhile, a billion people remain "outsiders" in the corporate-state system and are largely missing out on the fruits of gross domestic product growth. In fact, 400 million people have seen their net incomes decline during the past decade. Absolute poverty has doubled since 2000. This extensive role of the CCP has coincided with a rise in systemic corruption. Courts at all levels are still explicitly under the control of Party organs. According to studies by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, stealing from the public purse by officials amounts to about 2 percent of GDP each year, and it is rising. According to a 2005 CASS report, more than 40 million households have had their lands illegally seized by corrupt and unaccountable officials since the early 1990s. Levels of dissatisfaction-especially with local authorities-are so bad that there were 90,000 instances of mass unrest in 2006, according to official figures, rising from a few thousand in the mid-1990s. To appease unhappy citizens, Beijing has instituted a system of "petitions" whereby aggrieved citizens can appeal to a higher authority against their local officials. A good idea, perhaps, except for the fact that of every 10,000 petitions lodged, only three are heard. Democracy under these circumstances is unlikely to produce a better result for the vast majority of China's people. China first needs institutions. But the CCP knows that if strong institutions are built, it will lose its privileged place in Chinese society and economy. And if so, eventually it will likely lose political power. In remembering 60 years of modern Chinese history, the chaos of the Mao Zedong years can no longer be blamed every time the issue of stalled reforms and institutional building is brought up. The Chinese state is strong, but its people are weak. It is time that the state and Party allow the Chinese people to truly stand up. John Lee is a foreign policy fellow at the Center for Independent Studies in Sydney, Australia, and a visiting fellow at the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C. He is the author of Will China Fail? (CIS, 2009).

DTN News: Japan, China Propose 'East Asian Community' Similar To European Union

DTN News: Japan, China Propose 'East Asian Community' Similar To European Union

*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media

(NSI News Source Info) BEIJING, China - October 6, 2009: In a move that is considered to send shock waves around the world, Japan and China have proposed a plan to create an "East Asian Community," similar to the European Union, which could make a fierce force to reckon with and which would also improve economic and political relationships in the region.

Holiday-goers are packed at Yu Garden, one of the popular tourist spots in town, Monday, Oct. 5, 2009 in Shanghai, China. China enjoys the National Day holidays and many travelers from inside and outside of China visiting tourism sites in Shanghai.

The proposal is its initial stages and it could include visa-free travel, public health, energy and the environment.

In the later stages of the proposal, it is being said that political issues and common policies on defence and agriculture would also play a major part.

The alliance could become a big force in future, as Japan is currently the second-largest economy in the world, while China is in third place. It is also said that India would also join the league.

According to reports, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama put the proposal to Chinese President Hu Jintao during their first meeting, in New York on September 21. The issue was again discussed during Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada's meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, in Shanghai last week.

Robert Dujarric, director of the Institute of Contemporary Studies at Temple University in Japan, believes that the two countries are now looking for an alliance in order to improve its economic ties.

"I think Japan is looking for a way to improve the atmosphere with China, show Japanese leadership and co-operation, as well as improve economic ties and resolve pending territorial issues," The Telegraph quoted Dujarric, as saying.

Contrary to what is debated across the world, Dujarric also believes that there are benefits that the West could reap from a closer relationship between Japan and the rest of Asia. "The US supports the 'stakeholder' theory, that China has to be given a stake in the world order, and this would help," he said.

The proposal will again be on the agenda when the leaders of Japan, China and South Korea will meet in Beijing on October 10.