China Ready for War

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President Xi Jinping delivered a blistering nationalist speech Tuesday, warning against any attempts to split China and touting the country’s readiness to fight “the bloody battle” to regain its rightful place in the world.

Mr Xi’s address capped an annual session of the National People’s Congress that paved the way for him to rule for life, as China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong pushes through his vision of guiding the country through a “new era” of unrivalled global military and economic supremacy.

Days after President Donald Trump signed new rules allowing top-level US officials to travel to Taiwan, Mr Xi warned that Beijing would defend its “one China principle”, which sees the self-ruling island as its territory awaiting reunification.

“All acts and tricks to separate the country are doomed to fail and will be condemned by the people and punished by history,” Mr Xi told nearly 3,000 delegates assembled at the imposing Great Hall of the People facing Tiananmen Square . . .

The Chinese leader’s plan to build a “world-class” military by mid-century has also raised concerns about how it plans to use its increasingly modern forces amid regional frictions over China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea. (Read more from “China Ready for War” HERE)

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‘Army of Islam’ Would Be World’s Biggest Military

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When Turkey’s semi-official newspaper Yeni Safak called for urgent action in forming a 57-nation “Army of Islam” to besiege and attack Israel, a suggestion undoubtedly approved with at least a wink and nod by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, it would signal the possible intent to create the largest military force on the planet – one nearly as large as the total population of the Jewish state.

The report came just ahead of the summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and was published under the headline, “What if an Army of Islam was formed against Israel?” It was translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute.

But it wasn’t a rhetorical question. It was actually a suggestion to combine the military forces of all Islamic countries to overwhelm the Israeli army in manpower, budget and equipment – even boasting with statistics.

On December 12, 2017, ahead of the summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul, the Turkish daily Yeni Şafak, which is close to Erdoğan and his ruling AKP party, published an article titled “A Call for Urgent Action,” which also appeared on the paper’s website under the title “What If an Army of Islam Was Formed against Israel?” The article called on the 57 member states of the OIC to form a joint “Army of Islam” to besiege and attack the state of Israel. It notes that such a joint army will greatly exceed the Israeli army in manpower, equipment and budget, and presents statistics to prove this. It also advocates establishing joint bases for the army’s ground, air and naval forces that will arrive from all over the Muslim world to besiege Israel, while noting that Pakistan, as the only nuclear country, has “a special status” among the OIC countries. An interactive map provides information on military forces stationed in various locations and the role they can play in the potential joint Muslim attack on Israel . . .

“If the OIC member states unite and form a joint military force, it will be the largest army in the world,” the newspaper report said. “These countries’ total population is 1,674,526,931. The number of soldiers in active service in these countries is at least 5,206,100. Their [overall] military defense budget, of $174.7 billion, is also worthy of emphasis.” (Read more from “‘Army of Islam’ Would Be World’s Biggest Military” HERE)

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Mattis Pentagon Goes Rogue, Defies POTUS, Backs Iran Nuke Deal

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On the heels of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s firing, due to his defiance of President Trump in support of the Iran nuclear deal, rogue Pentagon officials under Secretary of Defense James Mattis are waging their own campaign to keep the deal with the terrorist regime in Tehran.

In amazing testimony before the Senate, Gen. Joseph Votel, who serves as the leader of U.S. Central Command, told stunned senators that he, Defense Secretary Mattis, and Joint Chiefs Chairman Joe Dunford all support the nuclear deal.

“From my perspective, the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] addresses one of the principal threats that we deal with from Iran,” Votel said, adding, “So, if the JCPOA goes away, then we will have to have another way to deal with the nuclear weapons program.”

This narrative is not at all in line with the president’s policies on the Iran deal. On the campaign trail, Trump famously described the Iran deal as one of the “worst deals” negotiated in U.S. history. Yet the Pentagon under Secretary of Defense Mattis articulates talking points that more closely represent the Obama administration’s views concerning the nuclear accord.

“Right now, I think it is in our interest” to remain in the deal, Votel added, seemingly in direct defiance of the commander-in-chief’s current mission to either fix or nix the deal.

Votel’s comments came just hours after Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was fired and immediately replaced with CIA Director Mike Pompeo.

In moving Pompeo into the chief diplomatic post, the president commented:

“I think Mike Pompeo will be a truly great Secretary of State. I have total confidence in him. And as far as Rex Tillerson is concerned…we disagreed on things. When you look at the Iran deal. I think it’s terrible. I guess he thought it was okay.”

Pompeo has long been a critic of the nuclear deal and recognizes Iran as one of the major forces of terrorist support and global instability.

Secretary Mattis, on the other hand, has consistently acted as a proponent for the Obama administration’s signature foreign policy “achievement.” Last October, Mattis told Congress that he believes it’s in America’s “best interest” to “stay with” the deal.

On the foreign policy front, Mattis has held off on confronting Iran’s regional aggression. Mattis continues to talk tough on Iran, but he still has not committed to any particular strategic or tactical changes to counter the regime.

Mattis has also gone rogue on a number of other issues. While the president opposes gender engineering in the military, Mattis has fought to keep the military open to people who identify as transgender. The defense chief has consistently sought out left-wing ideologues for top Pentagon positions. Additionally, he has pushed through the sale of U.S. military equipment and aid to the controversial regime in Qatar.

The president is seeking to either scrap the Iran deal entirely or institute overarching reforms to the broken accord before May 12. He has sent a team of negotiators to Europe to work with the other signatories to the deal in an attempt to shore up the agreement. The president wants to strengthen the deal to include reining in Iran’s ballistic missile program and rolling back its financial and material support for terrorism. A U.S. departure from the deal would virtually guarantee that it would be terminated by all parties involved. (For more from the author of “Mattis Pentagon Goes Rogue, Defies POTUS, Backs Iran Nuke Deal” please click HERE)

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World Leaders Issue Warning to Putin

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Russia today denied ever making the toxic Novichok nerve agent used to strike down a double agent in Britain as it faced a wall of international condemnation.

Deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said neither the Russian Federation or the Soviet Union had a Novichok weapons programme. He said his country destroyed the chemical weapon stocks it did hold last year. . .

In an excoriating assessment that lays down the gauntlet to Vladimir Putin, the leaders brand the incident an ‘assault on UK sovereignty’ and a ‘clear violation’ of laws on chemical weapons use.

The statement said: ‘The United Kingdom briefed thoroughly its allies that it was highly likely that Russia was responsible for the attack. . .

‘We call on Russia to address all questions related to the attack in Salisbury. Russia should in particular provide full and complete disclosure of the Novichok programme to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).’ (Read more from “World Leaders Issue Warning to Putin” HERE)

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China Launches New Campaign Against Christianity

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Amid an ongoing surge in Christianity that developed as communism created a spiritual vacuum in people’s lives, China has launched a new crackdown, including rules introduced last month that further restrict the activities of unregistered house churches, according to a new report.

Christians in China have been repressed ever since the People’s Republic was created in 1949, with the government’s control of churches and imposition of the Communist Party’s atheistic values.

The state’s oppressive control prompted the rise of an underground house-church movement that, combined with the growth of registered churches, will make China’s Christian population the world’s largest by 2030, according to the new report by the Council on Foreign Relations.

“Tens of millions of Chinese now identify as Christians and the number has grown rapidly, posing challenges for a government that is officially atheist and wary of threats to its power,” the report says.

The growth in Christianity became noticeable shortly after the long-repressive nation was reopened to the outside world amid the reforms instituted by Deng Xiaoping after Mao Zedong’s death in 1976. (Read more from “China Launches New Campaign Against Christianity” HERE)

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Solar Storm Could Hit This Week

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A minor solar storm is traveling toward Earth and is expected to hit as early as Wednesday.

If a solar storm is powerful enough, it can damage satellites and cut power. But the incoming storm is said to be minor, even though it may create an impressive display of the Northern Lights.

A major explosion in the sun’s atmosphere known as a flare, which took place on March 6 and 7, triggered the solar storm. Charged particles from the burst are now headed straight for Earth.

Meanwhile, scientists believed the Earth’s magnetic field forms “equinox cracks” around March 20 and Sept. 23 each year. The cracks, which are said to stay open for hours, create weaknesses in Earth’s natural defenses and could leave GPS systems and commercial flights more exposed to the damaging effects of a solar storm.

But the cracks could also create amazing opportunities for stargazers to catch a better view of the Northern lights. (Read more from “Solar Storm Could Hit This Week” HERE)

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U.S. ‘Ally’ Qatar Appears to Be Dangling Information About Trump Associates

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After being accused of hacking Republican officials connected to President Trump, it now appears that the rogue state of Qatar has taken to blackmailing top associates of the commander-in-chief through the media.

On Monday, NBC News reported that the regime that rules Qatar claims to have damaging information about associates of President Trump and their connections Doha’s rival state, the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The report adds that the Qataris have long contemplated delivering dirt on Trump associates — such as Jared Kushner — to special counsel Robert Mueller. NBC’s sources, unspecified Qatari associates, told NBC that they have not sent the information to the Mueller team. However, the story raised the possibility that Qatar is instead seeking to chip away at the president’s legitimacy through the media. The report claims it’s “unknown” whether Qatar is the source of media leaks to the New York Times and CNN — which appear calculated to damage the president and empower the Mueller team.

The NBC report claims that Qatar has information that President Trump’s position on Qatar was influenced by Kushner’s previous business dealings with its rivals. The piece overlooks the fact that conservatives have united behind the president’s requests of Qatar. As many of its Gulf neighbors are taking an active role in countering jihadist terrorism, while continuing efforts to reform and modernize, Qatar remains intent upon allying with state sponsors of terror and terrorist groups.

Qatar has decided against cooperating with Mueller “for now,” the report adds, which makes it seem like Doha is hanging the information over Trump officials’ heads as a means of potential future blackmail.

Shadowy operatives seemingly connected to Qatar continue to put forward allegations in media reports that implicate Trump associates on a variety of unproven charges.

Last week, the New York Times revealed that special counsel Mueller was investigating a controversial lobbyist for the UAE, along with his ties to the Trump administration. At the same time, the paper admitted that it got its research from “someone critical of the Emirati (UAE) influence in Washington.” There is a high likelihood that the “critical” person may be a lobbyist for the regime in Qatar, given the fact that Qatar is the UAE’s chief rival in the Gulf.

We also learned earlier this month that Elliot Brody, a top Trump fundraiser who is also the national deputy finance chairman for the Republican National Committee, believes his emails were hacked by Qatar. Brody’s allegedly stolen emails were dispersed to reporters in multiple news organizations, which leveraged the emails to highlight his ties to the UAE. He wrote a public letter about the fiasco, claiming that the Qataris are carrying out “hostile intelligence operations against United States citizens.”

Qatar claims to be a stalwart U.S. ally, but it is often aligned with Islamic supremacist states groups and individuals who seek to target the United States. Qatar continues to provide safe haven for the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, who has called for suicide bombings against American soldiers. The rogue nation also provides political offices in Doha for terrorist groups such as Hamas and the Taliban. Qatar’s leaders continue to work with the terrorist regime in Iran while supporting Al Qaeda-linked groups in Syria.

The oil-rich nation spends over $20 million per year to lobby for its foreign policy priorities. Qatar pays off policymakers, think tanks, academics, and members of the media on a regular basis. Between 2011 and 2014, Qatar pledged $21.6 million to the Brookings Institution, a prominent liberal think tank. In 2014, Qatar agreed to deliver another $14.8 million over four years to Brookings. Brookings employees cannot take “positions critical of the Qatari government in papers,” a whistleblower told The New York Times. Often shameless in its pursuits, Qatar is currently paying lobbyists to stop a bill in Congress that would shut down terrorist financing networks connected to the country. (For more from the author of “U.S. ‘Ally’ Qatar Appears to Be Dangling Information About Trump Associates” please click HERE)

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Putin: Maybe ‘Jews’ but Not Kremlin Meddled in U.S. Election

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President Vladimir Putin suggested in a US television interview that Ukrainians, Tatars or “Jews,” could have meddled in the 2016 US presidential election — but not the Kremlin.

“Why have you decided the Russian authorities, myself included, gave anybody permission to do this?” Putin asked in the often-combative interview with NBC television.

The leading US intelligence agencies concluded last year that Putin personally directed an intelligence effort to influence the 2016 US presidential election to undermine Democrat Hillary Clinton’s campaign and boost Republican Donald Trump . . .

“So what if they’re Russians?” Putin said of the allegations, according to transcripts of the NBC interview released late Friday.

“There are 146 million Russians. So what?… I don’t care. I couldn’t care less… They do not represent the interests of the Russian state.”

“Maybe,” Putin said, “they are not even Russians but Ukrainians, Tatars or Jews, but with Russian citizenship, which should also be checked; maybe they have dual citizenship or a green card; maybe the US paid them for this. (Read more from “Putin: Maybe ‘Jews’ but Not Kremlin Meddled in U.S. Election” HERE)

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Mom Has Arm, Fingers, Both Legs Cut off After Doctors Failed to Spot Deadly Disease

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A mother of two reportedly is suing an English hospital after doctors didn’t realize she was suffering from a life-threatening condition, resulting in multiple limb amputations which she now is calling “a fight for life.”

Magdalena Malec, 31, had both of her legs amputated after contracting sepsis — “the body’s extreme response to an infection” — at the Luton and Dunstable University Hospital in Luton, the South West News Service (SWNS) reported . . .

Malec, according to the news service, was told she suffered a miscarriage just weeks after learning she was pregnant with her third child in December 2014.

After being sent home from the emergency room with painkillers for her heavy bleeding and stomach cramps, Malec reportedly returned to Luton and Dunstable later that month, where she discovered she had an ectopic pregnancy — in which a fertilized egg attaches itself to a cavity outside the uterus — and underwent emergency surgery . . .

During recovery, Malec developed ischemia of her limbs — a lack of blood supply to certain parts of the body, according to SWNS. Her limbs reportedly then developed gangrene and her body tissue died, which Malec said occurred after hospital staff didn’t recognize the warning signs of her sepsis. (Read more from “Mom Has Arm, Fingers, Both Legs Cut off After Doctors Failed to Spot Deadly Disease” HERE)

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Muslim Countries Urged to Attack Israel

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A Turkish newspaper close to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling party is urging 57 Islamic nations to build a joint army specifically to attack Israel, notes a new report in Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin.

The Middle East Media Research Institute reports the article appeared on the paper’s website under the title “What If an Army of Islam Was Formed against Israel?” . . .

The article notes, MEMRI said, “that such a joint army will greatly exceed the Israeli army in manpower, equipment and budget, and presents statistics to prove this.”

“It also advocates establishing joint bases for the army’s ground, air and naval forces that will arrive from all over the Muslim world to besiege Israel, while noting that Pakistan, as the only nuclear country, has ‘a special status’ among the OIC countries,” the report said.

MEMRI explained that many of the major points in the newspaper article were “taken from the website of the Turkish SADAT International Defense and Consulting Company, which provides consultancy on defense and warfare, both conventional and unconventional, and on military organization, training and gear.” (Read more from “Muslim Countries Urged to Attack Israel” HERE)

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