China's new stealth fighter - the Chengdu J-20 a fabulous fake?

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A photo of China's new stealth fighter - the Chengdu J-20 (NATO Firefang) started popping up on internet aviation forums today. The source is unknown.

I find it very interesting that it almost matches publicly released artist's renderings in angle and lighting.

In any event, the illustration gives a better view of what the pixelated photo doesn't.

So is it the real deal? Have the Chinese cracked the code for stealth technology - or is the J-20 all show and no go?

I'm sure the Pentagon is wondering just that.


-Steve Douglass

Merry Christmas from Black Horizon

Jong's threaten "sacred" war.

Seoul, South Korea (CNN) -- North Korea threatened Thursday to launch a "sacred war" after South Korea completed large military exercises near the volatile inter-Korean border.

"The revolutionary armed forces of the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) are getting fully prepared to launch a sacred war of justice of Korean style based on the nuclear deterrent at anytime necessary," North Korea's defense minister Kim Yong Chun said, according to the state-run news agency.

"The South Korean puppet forces perpetrated such grave military provocation as renewing their shelling against the DPRK during their recent exercises for a war of aggression in the West Sea of Korea," Chun said. "This indicates that the enemy's scenario for aggression aimed at the start of another Korean War, has reached the phase of its implementation.

The long-planned South Korean exercises, billed as the largest land and air winter drills, were conducted just 15 miles from the North Korean border.
Richardson: We were 'very close' to war Diplomats agree to disagree on Koreas South Korea's war shift

More than 800 military personnel, fighter jets and anti-tank missiles took part in the exercise in Pocheon, which also involved more than 100 types of weapons.
The drills took place on undisputed South Korean territory but it was the timing that was worrisome to the region. Tensions have been running high since the sinking of the South Korean warship Cheonan last March, killing 46 sailors.
South Korea and the international community blamed the North for the Cheonan incident, but Pyongyang denied the accusations.

Then, last month, North Korea said the South's navy fired into Northern waters and in retaliation, it shelled Yeonpyeong Island, killing four South Koreans.
South Korea said its Navy was simply holding drills and conducted similar naval exercises again on Monday, drawing threats from Pyongyang that it would attack again.

But that did not happen.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak had harsh words for North Korea on Thursday.
"In the case of another surprise attack, the country must launch a merciless counterattack," Lee said.

The hostilities come amid transition in North Korea -- the ailing leader Kim Jong Il is believed to be in the process of transferring power to his son, Kim Jong Un. Some analysts believe the upcoming internal changes have prompted the North to flex its military muscle.

CIA WTF?

CNN:CIA Task Force: WTF

It's no secret that WikiLeaks' cable document dumps have caused ripples of concerns and speculation about how well the United States can keep secrets – its own and those of other countries.

It's been embarrassing to both U.S. diplomats and foreign leaders mentioned in the cables, but there haven't been any bombshells from the small percentage of documents released so far. The CIA, known for its ability to keep secrets, is taking no chances of being pulled further into the fray. The CIA has only been mentioned a few times in the cables, and has not been hit nearly as hard as other agencies and diplomats, but it does not appear willing to wait on the sidelines.

And it has an answer for WikiLeaks: WTF. Seriously.

In a move that couldn't be more ironic, and made for headlines such as the above, the CIA adopted a task force. And like all things involving the military, or secrecy, acronyms are huge. So when the CIA developed the WikiLeaks Task Force, naturally, it was likely thinking of the KISS method – Keep It Simple Stupid.

But in doing so, the CIA has proved it either has a really good sense of humor or was trying to send a snarky message, or perhaps someone at the agency just didn't think hard enough about the name choice.

"Officially, the panel is called the WikiLeaks Task Force," The Washington Post reports. "But at CIA headquarters, it's mainly known by its all-too-apt acronym: W.T.F."

OK, all jokes and obvious humor aside, the CIA is trying to do something real here – and that's to try and protect its reputation for secrecy.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and top aides had to start a new game plan – going to meet with foreign ministers, explaining, apologizing, cajoling and trying – to salvage relationships that she and the Obama administration had worked hard to establish. The State Department went into "war room" mode, pulling together an emergency round-the-clock team to handle the fallout.

So no doubt, the CIA is looking to make sure it won't be in the same situation.

"The director asked the task force to examine whether the latest release of WikiLeaks documents might affect the agency's foreign relationships or operations," CIA spokesman George Little told The Washington Post.

That's a high priority, officials told the paper. Because having any compromised informants really could lead to a real WTF situation – and not one the CIA or any government department would want on its hands.

North Korea launches dreaded FAX attack!

(CNN) -- North Korea is retaliating for a November artillery attack -- with an onslaught of faxes to South Korea, an official said Wednesday.
Earlier this month, faxes started arriving at South Korean companies, South Korean Unification Ministry deputy spokeswoman Lee Jong-joo said Wednesday. The faxes blame South Korea for the November 23 artillery attack on Yeonpyeong Island.

"Responsibility for the attack lies with the South," states the fax, according to Lee. "Groups in the South should rise up against the South Korean government."
The ministry says 15 companies, consisting of two religious groups, seven trade companies, five civic groups and one media organization, reported they had received the fax. The first report of a fax came in on December 8, according to Lee.
South Korea's war shift Diplomats agree to disagree on Koreas Crisis on the Korean peninsula.

The ministry estimates that 50 to 80 companies likely received the messages, but have not reported them yet to the government.

Most of the companies that received faxes had prior contact with North Korea through inter-Korean events or business operations, Lee said.
All of the reported faxes were in the same format and none of them included updated information about the recent and ongoing South Korean drills, the ministry said.

READ THE FULL STORY AT CNN