Moscow and Washington Strike Deal to Hold Putin-Trump Summit

/14 Comments/in , /by

By Reuters. Moscow and Washington have struck a deal to hold a summit soon between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump, Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters on Wednesday.

Ushakov said the summit would take place in a mutually-convenient third country and that several more weeks were needed for preparations. (Read more from “Moscow and Washington Strike Deal to Hold Putin-Trump Summit” HERE)

_____________________________________________

India Among Top Five Friends, Beijing Moscow’s Top Ally: Russia Poll

By Times of India. Despite a significant cooling between traditional strategic partners Russia and India, India can still count itself as one of the top five “friends” of Russia. And for all the talk about Russia moving towards Pakistan, an annual opinion poll by one of Moscow’s most respected think tanks shows Pakistan does not yet cross Russian consciousness.

The Levada Centre, the only non-governmental pollster in Russia, and labelled a “foreign agent” by the Kremlin in 2016 is distinguished by the comprehensive Russian opinion polls they publish. In their latest 2017 poll, which came out in 2018, Russians identified Belarus as their country’s top ally, followed by China, Kazakhstan, Syria and India.

While Indians may feel reassured that the “druzhba-dosti” relationship remains intact, it is more important to note that China is seen as Russia’s top ally. At the government level, Russia in China’s embrace is a common sight, this poll makes it clear that this embrace has percolated to the popular level too. The declining ties between India and Russia received a fresh lease of life after an informal summit between Modi and Putin several weeks ago, where the two leaders spent a lot of quality time together to reaffirm strategic convergences.

Identifying the top enemies of Russia, the poll picks on the US, specifically Donald Trump for top spot, with Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania and Germany occupying the big ‘foes’ spaces. Afghanistan remains a designated enemy, though the Russian system is now reputed to be working closely with the Taliban. Interestingly, the average Russian identified radical Islamism and Islamic extremism as an important threat/enemy. They consider Trump, Ukraine, Europe, ISIS and radical Islam and corruption to be the greatest threats to Russia. (Read more from “India Among Top Five Friends, Beijing Moscow’s Top Ally: Russia Poll” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

When Obama Pressured Big Banks to Break the Law for Iran, They Resisted

/0 Comments/in , /by

While the story was about yet another Obama administration Iran scandal in which Tehran’s American lobbyists-in-chief sought to make liquid $5.7 billion more dollars for the “moderate Rouhani regime”, for once in the tragedy there was an unlikely unsung hero.

American financial institutions, though often maligned, especially in the post-financial crisis world, serve a vital marketplace function. Just like all enterprises, they can be vehicles for good, such as raising capital to help businesses grow, and ill, such as engaging in fraudulent activities. On the negative side of the ledger, there is a sordid history of banks prioritizing profit over principle when it comes to doing business with evil regimes and sinister characters.

Perhaps the most sickening instance involves the conduct of Swiss banks before, during and after World War II. These institutions accepted Nazi deposits expropriated from Jews and refused for decades to acknowledge these holdings, let alone provide restitution to the families of those looted and often massacred by the German forces.

For those Jews who had smuggled their funds to Swiss banks in the hopes of protecting them from Nazi terror, the Swiss banks made it almost impossible for the victims or their relatives to claim their assets after the war. The Swiss institutions – which further did substantial business with the Nazis throughout the war – only began to face justice some 50 years later following substantial pressure from federal and state governments as well as a series of class action lawsuits.

Less egregious examples abound of banks transacting with tin-pot dictators and crime syndicates. In the case of the Iran deal, many European businesses, including financial institutions, continue to fight tooth and nail to do business with an IRGC-controlled economy, overseen by the Khomeinist regime, which is the world’s leading state sponsor of jihad. These firms and supportive governments are steadfast in their desire to do business that will in whole or in part redound to the benefit of the terrorist-backing, tyrannical revolution-exporting regime, even with America out of the pact. (Read more from “When Obama Pressured Big Banks to Break the Law for Iran, They Resisted” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

New Model Predicts That We’re Probably the Only Advanced Civilization in the Observable Universe

/0 Comments/in , /by

The Fermi Paradox remains a stumbling block when it comes to the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence (SETI). Named in honor of the famed physicist Enrico Fermi who first proposed it, this paradox addresses the apparent disparity between the expected probability that intelligent life is plentiful in the universe, and the apparent lack of evidence of extra-terrestrial intelligence (ETI).

In the decades since Enrico Fermi first posed the question that encapsulates this paradox (“Where is everybody?”), scientists have attempted to explain this disparity one way or another. But in a new study conducted by three famed scholars from the Future of Humanity Institute (FHI) at Oxford University, the paradox is reevaluated in such a way that it makes it seem likely that humanity is alone in the observable universe.

The study, titled “Dissolving the Fermi Paradox”, recently appeared online. The study was jointly-conducted by Anders Sanberg, a Research Fellow at the Future of Humanity Institute and a Martin Senior Fellow at Oxford University; Eric Drexler, the famed engineer who popularized the concept of nanotechnology; and Tod Ord, the famous Australian moral philosopher at Oxford University.

For the sake of their study, the team took a fresh look at the Drake Equation, the famous equation proposed by astronomer Dr. Frank Drake in the 1960s. Based on hypothetical values for a number of factors, this equation has traditionally been used to demonstrate that – even if the amount of life developing at any given site is small – the sheer multitude of possible sites should yield a large number of potentially observable civilizations.

This equation states that the number of civilizations (N) in our galaxy that we might able to communicate can be determined by multiplying the average rate of star formation in our galaxy (R*), the fraction of those stars which have planets (fp), the number of planets that can actually support life (ne), the number of planets that will develop life (fl), the number of planets that will develop intelligent life (fi), the number civilizations that would develop transmission technologies (fc), and the length of time that these civilizations would have to transmit their signals into space (L). (Read more from “New Model Predicts That We’re Probably the Only Advanced Civilization in the Observable Universe” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Collusion: Twitter CEO Found Sharing Russian Propaganda

/0 Comments/in , /by

. . .Now, you can add “The Emperor’s New Clothes” to the list of cautionary tales that Twitter is emulating. Even after the company claimed to be on a crusade against so-called “trolls” and inaccurate news sources, it’s CEO was just revealed to be spreading the same “fake news” he pretends to be against.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey shared over a dozen tweets around the time of the presidential election which originated from an account that investigators now know to be part of a Russian trolling operation.

Dorsey “between late 2016 and mid-2017 shared at least 17 tweets from a Russian troll who went by Crystal1Johnson on Twitter, the Journal’s analysis found,” the respected newspaper stated.

“The tweets from the Russian account that Mr. Dorsey shared touched on topics including Bob Marley’s son converting a prison into a place to grow marijuana and former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who first sparked the anthem controversy to make a statement on the treatment of African-Americans in the U.S.,” The Wall Street Journal continued.

While Dorsey did not originate the “fake news” tweets, he willingly shared them, despite the fact that they were from unconfirmed news sources known to be connected to the Internet Research Agency, a Russian propaganda effort. (Read more from “Twitter CEO Found Sharing Russian Propaganda” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Gender-Neutral Passports REJECTED

/0 Comments/in , /by

The UK High Court has rejected a bid to introduce gender-neutral passports. The litigant had suggested that asking passport holders to specify their gender is “inherently discriminatory.”

Christie Elan-Cane, who has been campaigning with the backing of Human Rights Watch for so-called “gender-X” passports since 1995, said: “I am bitterly disappointed that my case for the judicial review of the UK government’s discriminatory passport policy was not upheld – not just for myself but for everyone who is compromised by this policy. . .

Justice Baker rejected claims that the current policy, which requires putting ‘male’ or ‘female’ on passports, is in breach of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR). . .

Elan-Cane’s lawyer argued in the High Court last April that the policy breached two fundamental rights: the respect for a private life and the right to not be discriminated against on the basis of gender and sex.

LGBT charity Stonewall also expressed disappointment at the High Court’s dismissal, saying: “Many trans people are afraid to travel abroad for fear of intrusive questioning or difficulties at passport control. (Read more from “Gender-Neutral Passports Rejected” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Netanyahu’s Wife Indicted on Fraud Charges

/0 Comments/in , /by

The wife of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was indicted Thursday on fraud charges related to nearly $100,000 in costs for catering meals.

The indictment claims that between 2010 and 2013, Sara Netanyahu ordered meals from some of Jerusalem’s top chefs even though the prime minister’s household already had a full-time cook, The New York Times reported.

The indictment further accuses Sara Netanyahu of working with the staff of the official residence to cover up the fact that during the time period, the residence did have cooks. It states that she told them to engage in a cover-up “so that this won’t be found out by the treasury and the office manager,” according to Haaretz.

As a result, the indictment said, the cook was listed as part of the maintenance staff.

The investigation into the 15 dinners in question began in 2015 as part of a wide-ranging investigation into the lifestyle of Israel’s first couple.

“They’re dealing with the most important things in the world,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last year, according to The Hill. “The procedure for replacing a light bulb, trays of food, the cup of tea that was served to her father, a righteous man, on his deathbed.”

In 2017, Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit said he would file an indictment against Sara Netanyahu.

Negotiations for a plea agreement collapsed when Netanyahu would not agree to repay the roughly $99,000 spent on the cooks and admit to the charges.

Attorneys for Netanyahu released a statement denying the charges against her, according to The Washington Post.

They called the indictment “absurd and delusional.”

“This is the first time in Israel and around the world that a leader’s wife is prosecuted for food in the trays. There was no fraud or breach of trust or any other offense,” the statement said. “The wife of the prime minister, who is not a public servant, did not even know the procedures, and she told the truth about it when asked in a polygraph test.”

The statement said household officials should bear any blame.

“The Netanyahu family is not the one who consumed most of the food and the trays, but many other people, including the household workers,” it said.

It is unclear if this indictment will have political fallout. In 1977, former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin resigned when his wife, Leah, faced indictment. However, Benjamin Netanyahu is not expected to step down.

The case against Sara Netanyahu is not the only one that is brewing.

The Jerusalem Post has reported that an indictment against the prime minister is likely when a bribery investigation concludes in 2019.

Netanyahu’s trial is expected to start in the fall, and there is little expectation that even if she is convicted she will be sent to jail, the Jerusalem Post reported.

Netanyahu served as Israel’s prime minister form 1996 to 1999 before returning to office in 2009. (For more from the author of “Netanyahu’s Wife Indicted on Fraud Charges” please click HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Prime Minister: Catholic Hospitals Will Now Be Forced to Perform Abortions

/0 Comments/in , /by

Now that abortion is legal in Ireland, all hospitals, including those with a Catholic ethos, will be required to carry out abortions once the country’s repeal of a constitutional abortion ban goes into effect.

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadka made the announcement while discussing surgical abortions during a speech to the Irish parliament, just a few weeks after Ireland voted by a large margin (63 percent) to repeal the amendment that had banned abortion in the country for the last 35 years. While many conservatives predicted Ireland’s abortion ban repeal would lead to the loss of other freedoms, it’s somewhat surprising how quickly this has proven to be the case. . .

The Irish government has been drafting legislation to address how abortion law will work now that the ban is overturned. One proposed bill would allow women to get an abortion during the first trimester, and into the early weeks of the second trimester in extreme cases. Legislators are using Ireland’s Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act of 2013 as a guide. This piece of legislation allowed for abortions in extreme medical circumstances, and for individual medical personnel to opt out of giving those abortions.

Varadkar is Ireland’s first openly gay prime minister. President Trump has boasted about their “outstanding relationship” and Time magazine called him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

He did offer a loophole for doctors, nurses, and midwives who want to opt out of performing abortion procedures on conscience grounds, but it’s unclear how that would play out in practice. Regardless, Varadkar was still clear all of Ireland’s medical institutions, no matter their origins or funding, would be required to participate in performing abortions now. (Read more from “Prime Minister: Catholic Hospitals Will Now Be Forced to Perform Abortions in Ireland” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

BADASS: What This British Special Forces Sergeant Did To Six Taliban Terrorists Is Incredible

/0 Comments/in , , /by

By The Daily Wire. Great Britain’s equivalent of the American Navy Seals are the Special Air Service (SAS) fighters, the British Army’s most renowned special forces unit. One SAS sergeant fighting the terrorist Taliban in Afghanistan in January showed why SAS forces rank with the best in the world in a harrowing confrontation with six Taliban fighters in a nearly pitch-black tunnel.

After the SAS fighters had destroyed a Taliban base, six Taliban fighters escaped into an underground cave complex in northern Afghanistan; one of the fighters was a “high-value target.” The series of tunnels were perfect for claustrophobia; less than two feet wide, four feet high, and almost completely dark. Then the 29-year-old sergeant, a veteran who had fought in Iraq, took it upon himself to pursue the Taliban fighters.

The mission had only been partially successful because the base was destroyed, but the SAS were after a “high-value target” and he had escaped into the tunnels. It was pretty clear none of the Afghan commandos was going to go in after him so he volunteered. There wasn’t enough room to use a long-barreled weapon so the Brit used his Glock 9mm pistol and grabbed a claw hammer. He couldn’t see the Taliban but he could hear and smell them. He shot three of them dead one after the other but then his pistol jammed. He fought two more in the dark where the tunnel opened into a larger room that was partially lit by a candle. After he killed those two, he was attacked by another but killed him almost instantly with a single blow.

(Read more from “Badass: What This British Special Forces Sergeant Did to Six Taliban Terrorists Is Incredible” HERE)

_______________________________________________________

British special forces soldier killed six Taliban in pitch-black, Viet Cong-style tunnel fight

By Military Times. . .The soldier was part of a joint British and Afghan special forces operation launched against a Taliban base in northern Afghanistan, the Daily Star reported.

The commandos involved in the operation successfully destroyed the base, but several Taliban, including a high-value senior commander, were able to flee into an underground cave complex.

When no Afghan commandos volunteered to enter the tunnels, the SAS soldier took it upon himself to complete the mission. . .

For 30 minutes, he relied on sound, smell and touch to track and kill six terrorists in the pitch-black, suffocating environment. . .

The soldier, an Iraq veteran, called the 30-minute fight the most difficult of his military career. For at least an hour after returning above ground, the solider was unable to speak due to his level of distress. (Read more from “British special forces soldier killed six Taliban in pitch-black, Viet Cong-style tunnel fight” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Anti-U.S. Leftist Expected to Become Next Mexican President

/0 Comments/in , /by

Amid the national hysteria over American immigration and border security policy, many appear to be missing the potential massive impact that the coming elections in Mexico will have on these policies, along with the impact the election will have on U.S.-Mexico relations and the cooperation that is ultimately needed to end the crisis at the southern border.

Mexicans will head to the ballot box on July 1 to elect a new president. According to polling, far-left politician Andrés Manuel López Obrador is the clear favorite to lock up the presidency. Recent polls show that he consistently garners over 50 percent of expected voters’ support. His closest rival, Ricardo Anaya, registers around 25 percent support on average in recent polls.

López Obrador is not only a committed leftist, but he appears to be fiercely anti-American. As someone who rose through the political ranks attached to communist and socialist revolutionary politics, he has been described as the ideological “twin” of radical leftist British politician Jeremy Corbyn.

On the campaign trail, the front-runner has branded himself as a fierce nationalist and populist who wants to distance his country from the U.S. His leftist nationalism has drawn comparisons to the rhetoric of the late Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez.

López Obrador has in the past pledged to stop all security cooperation with the United States. During the Trump presidency, his anti-American rhetoric has only increased.

In January, he pledged that if he were elected, he would put President Trump “in his place.” The next month, he said he would seek United Nations intervention to stop the United States from securing its southern border with Mexico.

“If he insists on building the wall, we’re going to turn to the United Nations to defend the rights of Mexicans. I’m conscious of my historic responsibility,” López Obrador said in a February debate.

“Mexico and its people will not be the piñata of any foreign government,” López Obrador said in a May speech targeting the United States. “It’s not with walls or use of force that you resolve social problems.”

However, in recent weeks, as his lead continues to climb, López Obrador has notably softened his tone.

Last week, López Obrador said he believes he can use diplomacy to convince the president to back off on his border wall policy.

It remains to be seen which ideology López Obrador will embrace should he become Mexico’s next president. Will his revolutionary impulses lead to the destruction of relations with the United States, or will his nationalist-centrist campaign result in a president who respects the sovereignty of his neighbor to the north? (For more from the author of “Anti-U.S. Leftist Expected to Become Next Mexican President” please click HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Nikki Haley Pulls the U.S. out of the UN Human Rights Council With a Scathing Statement

/0 Comments/in , /by

US Ambassador the United Nations Nikki Haley offered a scathing assessment of the UN Human Rights Council as the announcement was made to pull out of the organization.

In a statement given alongside Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Haley derided the Human Rights Council as biased and counterproductive to the cause of human rights.

“Human rights abusers continue to serve on, and be elected to, the council,” Haley said. “The world’s most inhumane regimes continue to escape its scrutiny, and the council continues politicizing scapegoating of countries with positive human rights records in an attempt to distract from the abusers in its ranks.”

“When a so-called Human Rights Council cannot bring itself to address the massive abuses in Venezuela and Iran, and it welcomes the Democratic Republic of Congo as a new member,” she continued, “the council ceases to be worthy of its name.

“Such a council, in fact, damages the cause of human rights,” she concluded.

(Read more from “Nikki Haley Pulls the U.S. out of the UN Human Rights Council With a Scathing Statement” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.