Chinese authorities have arrested a former top official in a corruption investigation after expelling him from the ruling Communist Party, state-run Xinhua news agency reported Monday.
Party investigators have accused Ling Jihua, 58, once a top aide to former President Hu Jintao, of accepting huge bribes, illegally obtaining party and state secrets, as well as keeping mistresses and trading power for sex, Xinhua said.
From 2007 to 2012, Ling was the director of the Communist Party Central Committee’s General Office under Hu — a position often compared to the White House chief of staff — making him an extremely powerful politician in China’s one party-dominated political system . . .
Party investigators have sent Ling’s case to the China’s highest prosecution authority, which is conducting its own investigation, Xinhua reported. (Read more from “One-Time Aide to China’s Ex-President Accused of Corruption, Report Says” HERE)
Taiwan is pledging $1 million toward the construction of a monument honoring 34th U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower in Washington, D.C., though Congress continues to withhold funding from the project.
Roll Coll reported that Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), who chairs the House Appropriations Committee panel overseeing the project, announced the contribution from Taiwan Tuesday.
Despite the gift and the National Capital Planning Commission’s recent approval of “starchitect” Frank Gehry’s revised design for the memorial, Congress has not provided the project — estimated by the 11-member Eisenhower Memorial Commission to cost $144 million — with construction funding since 2012.
Funds have been withheld amid disputes in Congress and the Eisenhower family regarding the Gehry design, which the commission rejected in a vote last year. While the new design gained preliminary approval in October, Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), the commission’s vice chairman, continued to express doubt last month.
“There’s been some real conflict between the staff, the Eisenhower family and, to some degree, Congress,” Simpson explained in a June interview before federal planners approved Gehry’s design. “In the end, what you’ve got to have is a design that’s supported by the Eisenhower family. They don’t have to have veto power, but they can’t oppose it. So, I think it’s best that they start over.” (Read more from “Taiwan Pledges $1 Million Toward Construction of Eisenhower Memorial as Congress Withholds Funds” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-07-20 03:53:452016-04-11 10:58:44Taiwan Pledges $1 Million Toward Construction of Eisenhower Memorial as Congress Withholds Funds
A top scientific advisor to Pope Francis, Hans Schellnhuber, is an atheist and a Gaia believer says Dr. William Briggs, a Catholic climate scientist who was interviewed this week on The Joe Miller Show. And his Gaia beliefs aren’t superficial: he openly contends that the Earth is “self-aware” and “cognizant.”
Schellnhuber is also a hard-core advocate for one-world government, contending that the world needs a functioning international government with an “Earth Constitution” and “planetary court.” Disturbingly, the Pope’s recent encyclical also embraces international governance and controls to address man-made global warming, suggesting that Schellnhuber may be influencing official church policy.
Dr. Briggs suggests that the Pope may be getting played by environmental activists but admits that no one really knows given how carefully the Pope has kept his true views from the public eye. However, at an upcoming Vatican conference, only leftist climate scientists have been invited. The Pope has also invited a slew of very liberal political figures who have no background in science but could help advance the international climate change agenda.
Dr. Briggs also talks about the Pope’s socialistic leanings and his recent anti-capitalistic rantings. When discussing whether Pope Francis was bothered by the hammer and sickle crucifix that the Bolivian president presented him, Dr. Briggs noted that the Pope was already wearing a similar medallion.
Listen to this and more on the following interview:
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-07-18 03:38:332016-04-11 10:58:45Top Scientific Advisor to Pope is Atheist, GAIA Believer, Wants One World Government [+video]
How many more potential Islamic terrorists like Mohammad Youssef Adbulazeer are living freely in this country? And to what extent is our political class going to continue their suicidal policies?
Several months ago, we estimated that roughly 1.62 million individuals from predominantly Muslim countries have emigrated here since 9/11. We counted all of the green cards issued to foreign nationals of 43 countries with either near-100% Muslim population or an overwhelming majority of Muslims. While some of these individuals are likely non-Muslims, we noted that it is a pretty fair estimate of the number of Muslim immigrants and coincides with the Pew estimate of 100,000 million Muslim immigrants per year.
A quick search and tally of the data at the IIE for the same 43 predominantly Muslim countries reveals that 127,332 student visas were granted to students from these same countries. Our government does this every year and the trend is only growing. That means that 14% of the annual student visas are from Muslim countries, an even higher share than immigrant visas relative to the total immigrant population.
By far, the largest number of visas come from Saudi Arabia (remember 9/11?), topping out at 53,919 for the last academic year. As we noted last year, the Saudi government has unlimited funds to pay for their international students, and with no caps on F1 visas, they could theoretically send hundreds of thousands of students here every year.
Iran has sent us over 10,000 foreign students as well. What could go wrong?
Oh, and with Mohammad Youssef Adbulazeer on everyone’s mind, it’s important to note that we’ve admitted 7,288 foreign students from Kuwait for that same academic year.
No wonder Arabic is the fastest growing language on U.S. campuses.
Consider this thought for a moment: the college population is almost exclusively between the ages of 18-25. Given that 36% of American Muslims under the age of 45 believe that violence against America can be justified as part of Global Jihad, what percentage of foreign students during the prime age for Jihad coming straight from the Middle East harbor the same sentiments? In that sense, student visas from the Middle East and North Africa represent an even more direct security threat than immigrant visas.
The rapid increase in Muslim foreign students should also raise concerns in the context of the growing push to bring in more “high skilled” STEM students and workers. Liberals often blame Jihad on poverty and lack of a promising future for Muslim youth, but the reality is that many of these young Jihadis are smart and affluent with promising careers. Just look at the lifestyle of the Chattanooga Jihadi and the fact that he held a degree in electrical engineering.
A huge share of the international students from Muslim countries is enrolled in STEM fields, according to the data compiled by IIE. Seventy-nine percent of Iranian students and 42% of Saudi students were enrolled in STEM programs. So just remember when they discuss bringing in more STEM students and workers, there is a high likelihood we would be importing more security risks.
With this entire region embroiled in Islamic upheaval and the shocking success of the global cyber jihad in radicalizing Muslim youth, why in the world would we self-immolate and bring in so many potential security threats? (“Student Visas From Muslim Countries on the Rise, 127K Last Year”, originally posted HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-07-18 03:01:492016-04-11 10:58:46Student Visas From Muslim Countries on the Rise, 127K Last Year
Syrian Islamic State (IS) supporters have publicly crucified, flogged and caged nearly 100 people accused of breaking the daytime fast observed during the Muslim holy month. UK-based monitor the Syrian Human Rights Observatory (SOHR) yesterday said it had documented 94 such punishment cases for eating in Ramadan, including five children and two old men.
Breitbart News previously reported the case of two boys “crucified” for eating in Ramadan on 23 June in Deir ez-Zour. For IS the punishment does not necessarily mean execution by nailing or tying victims to a cross. The group uses crosses and bars to pose dead bodies as a means of terrorising local populations or as a means of publicly shaming those who breach the tenets of sharia law as interpreted by IS.
In normal circumstances children do not have to fast during Ramadan. They may be encouraged to practice fasting for part of a day or for one day on the weekend, but it only becomes mandatory when they enter puberty.
The 94 cases were recorded between 22 June and 16 July and took place across the IS-held Syrian governorates of Aleppo, Al-Raqqa and Deir ez-Zour. The punishments were administered in streets and squares in front of crowds of spectators, including children, who SOHR says were encouraged to mock the victims. (Read more from “5 Children Among 94 Crucified, Flogged and Caged by ISIS for Doing This During Ramadan” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-07-18 03:01:212016-04-11 10:58:465 Children Among 94 Crucified, Flogged and Caged by ISIS for Doing This During Ramadan
The new nuclear deal with Iran gives Tehran full legitimacy to engage in further atomic work and will set off a regional nuclear and conventional arms race, a senior Israeli official warned on Friday.
Ram Ben Barak said Iran was plainly still determined to break out to the bomb at a time of its choosing, and that its insistence in the deal on preventing inspectors from gaining instant access to suspect facilities, and on winning the right to continue R&D on fast-enrichment centrifuges, demonstrated that the regime remains committed to attaining nuclear weapons.
Ben Barak, who is director general of the Strategic Affairs Ministry and a leading candidate to be the next head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency, told Channel 10 that the 10-year deal between the US-led P5+1 world powers and Iran signed Tuesday, which is aimed at curbing Tehran’s nuclear ambitions in exchange for lifting harsh international sanctions, is “very bad.”
Ben Barak is one of three candidates vying for the coveted position of Mossad chief, contending with current National Security Council chair Yossi Cohen and an unnamed deputy to current Mossad chief Tamir Pardo. Pardo is slated to step down in January 2016.
“This is a very bad deal,” he told Channel 10, “mainly because it gives Iran legitimacy to engage in nuclear work. Also, in 10 years from now, Iran will be able to enrich uranium to whatever grade it wants and however much it wants, without any limitations.” (Read more from “Iran Deal Will Set off Middle East Nuclear Arms Race, Warns Top Israeli Official” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-07-18 03:01:082016-04-11 10:58:46Iran Deal Will Set off Middle East Nuclear Arms Race, Warns Top Israeli Official
Greece’s parliament has voted to accept substantial economic reforms needed before the country can receive a fresh bailout worth as much as $96 billion.
The heavily indebted country needs the bailout money to avoid bankruptcy and a ‘Grexit’ from the euro, but the reforms are extremely unpopular.
Many Greeks resent that European lenders are imposing such harsh, strict reforms on their pension and tax systems.
Protests in front of the Greek parliament building in Athens turned violent on Wednesday ahead of the vote. Protesters threw Molotov cocktails and police responded with tear gas.
For months, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his Syriza party rallied against the reforms. But Tsipras was forced to accept them as the country tottered on the brink of bankruptcy. (Read more from “Greece Votes ‘Yes’ on Bailout Bill” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-07-16 03:54:302016-04-11 10:58:51Greece Votes ‘Yes’ on Bailout Bill
ISIS strongholds in Iraq and Syria are the focus of much scrutiny, but there are new concerns the terror network is looking to use other radical movements closer to Europe as a way to expand their reach.
Fox News National Security Analyst KT McFarland spoke to foreign policy experts retired Air Force Col. Cederic Leighton and the Heritage Foundation’s James Carafano about the terror network’s influence.
Leighton says there are already indications ISIS is linking up with Russian extremists. “They are riding a wave of popularity – wherever they get traction, that’s where they are going to have a franchise operation … and they are doing a great job of it in the Caucasus at the moment.”
Russia has dealt with terror attacks linked to Russia’s Caucasus region, where extremism runs high. In 2002, militants linked to Chechnya took hostages in a Moscow theater, where 130 people were killed. Then, in 2004, armed Muslim rebels took over a school in southern Russia, killing 331 people.
“At the root of that is an Islamist minority, which has been fighting for independence from the Russian government for a long time and some of that has erupted in real war, real insurgency … the potential for [terrorists] reaching to disaffected groups, that’s only going to grow in Russia,” said Carafano, vice president at the Heritage Foundation. (Read more from “ISIS Movement in Russia Raises US Concern” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-07-15 03:50:332016-04-11 10:58:54ISIS Movement in Russia Raises US Concern [+video]
By Associated Press. Iran, the United States and other world powers struck a historic deal Tuesday to curb Iranian nuclear programs and ease fears of a nuclear-armed Iran threatening the volatile Middle East. In exchange, Iran will get billions of dollars in relief from crushing international sanctions . . .
In Tehran, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said “a new chapter” had begun in his nation’s relations with the world. He maintained that Iran had never sought to build a bomb, an assertion the U.S. and its partners have long disputed.
Beyond the hopeful proclamations from the U.S., Iran and other parties to the talks, there is deep skepticism of the deal among U.S. lawmakers and Iranian hardliners. Obama’s most pressing task will be holding off efforts by Congress to levy new sanctions on Iran or block his ability to suspend existing ones. (Read more from “Iran Nuclear Deal: Fine ‘New Chapter’ or ‘Historic Mistake’?” HERE)
By Ishaan Tharoor. After more than two weeks of wrangling and missed deadlines in Vienna, Iran and its international interlocutors have finally clinched a historic accord over Tehran’s nuclear program. The diplomacy with Iran, an endeavor that faced vociferous opposition throughout, was aimed at curbing the Islamic republic’s ability to produce a nuclear weapon. A tentative framework was inked in April between Iran and its negotiating partners, which include the United States, Russia, Britain, France, China and Germany.
The deal’s proponents argue that the talks have yielded the best guarantee possible that Iran won’t be able to move toward nuclear weapons, while also, for the time being, reducing the risk of yet another military escalation in the Middle East . . .
Here’s a guide to how it works.
The main benchmark by which analysts gauge Iran’s ability to produce an atomic bomb is the “breakout” time — the time needed for Iran to produce enough weapons-grade enriched uranium for one nuclear bomb. It is currently estimated at a couple of months; under the terms of the deal, that time frame has been extended to at least one year.
The implication here is key: One year gives world powers enough time to mobilize action to interrupt Iran’s pathway to a bomb. The extended breakout time also presents, in its own right, a strategic obstacle to Iran’s leadership, raising the stakes if it ever considered rushing toward building a nuclear arsenal. To be sure, Tehran has always insisted that it has no interest in obtaining a nuclear weapon, but its covert activities in the past raised the world’s suspicions and led to tough international trade, banking and financial sanctions. (Read more from “The Historic Nuclear Deal With Iran: How It Works” HERE)
By Jethro Mullen and Nic Robertson. After tortuous talks that spanned 20 months, negotiators have reached a landmark deal aimed at reining in Iran’s nuclear program.
The agreement, a focal point of U.S. President Barack Obama’s foreign policy, appears set to reshape relations between Iran and the West, with its effects likely to ripple across the volatile Middle East.
Representatives of Iran, the United States and the other nations involved in the marathon talks were holding a final meeting in Vienna on Tuesday.
Speaking ahead of the session, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called the deal a “historic moment,” although he cautioned that it was “not perfect.”
“It’s a good day for diplomacy, it’s a good day for compromise, it’s a good day for a new beginning between Iran — a pivotal state in the Middle East — and the United States,” said Fawaz Gerges, professor of Middle East studies at The London School of Economics. (Read more about the final Iran talks HERE)
___________________________________________________________ What Happened Yesterday During Negotiations
By Matthew Lee and George Jahn. Disputes over attempts to probe Tehran’s alleged work on nuclear weapons unexpectedly persisted at Iran nuclear talks on Monday, diplomats said, threatening plans to wrap up a deal by midnight — the latest in a series of deadlines for the negotiations.
The diplomats said two other issues still needed final agreement — Iran’s demand for a lifting of a U.N. arms embargo and its insistence that any U.N. Security Council resolution approving the nuclear deal be written in a way that stops describing Iran’s nuclear activities as illegal. They demanded anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the negotiations.
With a temporary deal set to expire at midnight Monday Vienna time (6 p.m. ET), diplomats said they hoped to complete and announce a final agreement before day’s end.
But they warned there was no guarantee, and some said the talks could stretch into Tuesday despite there being little appetite for what would be a fourth extension of the interim agreement since the current round began on June 27.
Grim-faced foreign ministers from the countries negotiating with Iran declined to answer questions about another possible extension as they gathered for a group meeting at the 19th Century palace that has been hosting the talks. (Read more from “Iran Talks Hit Final Stage but Deal Remains Elusive” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-07-14 02:28:292016-04-11 10:58:55Persian Negotiators Played the West: Final Deal Reached With Iran
