WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Britain spending less on defence than France and India as budget cuts push it down global table Jack Maidment

Posted By on February 12th, 2019

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/02/12/britain-now-spends-less

Britain now ranks seventh in a league table of the world’s biggest defence spenders, below India and France, after budget cuts.

Gavin Williamson, the Defence Secretary, said in a speech on Monday that the UK was a “nation with the world’s fifth biggest defence budget”.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/02/12/britain-now-spends-less-defence-france-india-ranks-seventh-global/

Data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) showed that while the UK ranked fifth in 2015, spending $55 billion, it has subsequently fallen to seventh in 2016 and 2017.

In 2017 the UK’s military expenditure stood at just over $47 billion.

Defence sources said there were a number of different league tables for defence spending which used different criteria and methodology which meant there was not one definitive ranking.

The United States remained top of the SIPRI league table for military spending in 2017, with its $610 billion outlay almost three times the $228 billion spent by second-placed China.

US military spending represented more than a third of the world’s total spend on defence in 2017.

Saudi Arabia ranked third with Russia in fourth, India in fifth, France in sixth and the UK in seventh.

ISRAEL, WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Ruthie Blum Crime and punishment, Israeli-style What is it about a murder committed by a terrorist that differentiates it in the Israeli mindset from one perpetrated by a “regular” criminal?

Posted By on February 12th, 2019

https://www.jns.org/opinion/crime-and-punishment-israeli-style/

The debate over capital punishment for terrorists arose again in Israel after the body of 19-year-old Ori Ansbacher was discovered in a forest on the outskirts of Jerusalem, and her killer, 29-year-old Arafat Irfaiya, confessed to sexually assaulting and stabbing her to death.

Although it took Israeli police and security services two full days to confirm that the brutal murder was an act of terrorism, the public knew the truth. This was not merely because of false rumors rampant on social media that Ansbacher had been decapitated, ISIS-style. The real reason that Israelis understood the nature of the slaying was due, sadly, to experience.

Furthermore, it turned out that Irfaiya, a Palestinian Hamas supporter from Hebron, had been detained twice in the past for terror-related activities. To top it all off, he told his interrogators that he had come to Jerusalem with a knife with the intention of killing a Jew and becoming a shahid–a “martyr” for Allah. He said that though he had not thought through how he was going to accomplish this, he happened upon Ansbacher, who was sitting by herself on a bench, and jumped on the opportunity.

Literally.

Following Irfaiya’s arrest, Israelis flooded Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square to demand that he and other convicted terrorists be given the death penalty, which exists in Israeli law, but has only been implemented once in the country’s history. In 1962, Nazi architect Adolf Eichmann was executed after a long trial, during which one after another of his victims testified about the horrors they were forced to endure at his hands in Europe as part of Hitler’s “final solution.”

BOOKS, EDUCATION Comments turned off

The Campus Intellectual Diversity Act: A Proposal By Stanley Kurtz ****

Posted By on February 12th, 2019

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/the-campus-intellectual-diversity-act-a-proposal/

America’s colleges and universities lack intellectual diversity. Knowledge advances through debate, yet our universities are dominated by an intellectual monoculture, while public-policy debates common to society at large are scarcely to be found in the halls of the academy.

This problem can be addressed in a way that respects academic freedom. Colleges help prepare students for citizenship, in part by exposing them to outside speakers, panel discussions, and debates that explore the public-policy disputes of the day. Action can be taken to ensure that our universities allow students to consider a wide range of perspectives on controversial public issues, without interfering with the classroom. This will not only advance knowledge; it will shore up our tenuous civil peace in an era when America’s sense of shared nationhood is threatened by political polarization.

Alarming campus shout-downs of visiting speakers are part of a broader problem. The real targets of those shout-downs are not the speakers, who leave campus and go on with their own lives, but the faculty and students who remain. The shouters implicitly say, “If we can silence this visiting speaker, think what we can do to you if you get out of line.” The result is a campus culture of self-censorship in which controversy is avoided and debate disappears. Shout-downs both reflect and reinforce the underlying intellectual monoculture. Restoring a culture of respectful discussion and debate will thus bolster civility, safeguard liberty, strengthen citizenship, and deepen knowledge.

The proposal I present here expands upon an idea first suggested by George La Noue, professor of Political Science and Public Policy at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. La Noue develops this idea and presents the research behind it in his forthcoming book with Carolina Academic Press, Silenced Stages: The Loss of Academic Freedom and Campus Policy Debates.

While the model legislation I present here can be applied by state legislatures to public university systems, it is also perfectly possible for college or university trustees at public or private institutions to adopt this proposal on their own.

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

McConnell: Senate to Vote on Green New Deal So Lawmakers Can ‘Go on Record’ By Jack Crowe

Posted By on February 12th, 2019

https://www.nationalreview.com/news/mcconnell-senate-will-vote-on-green-new-deal-so-all-lawmakers-can-go-on-record/

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Tuesday that the Senate will vote on the Green New Deal resolution introduced last week by a coalition of progressive lawmakers vowing to eliminate all greenhouse-gas emissions within ten years, while simultaneously creating millions of jobs in a government-subsidized green-energy sector.

“I’ve noted with great interest the Green New Deal. And we’re going to be voting on that in the Senate. Give everybody an opportunity to go on record and see how they feel about the Green New Deal,” McConnell said with a sly smile during a Tuesday press conference.

The resolution, which was introduced by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) and Senator Ed Markey (D., Mass.) on Friday, provides a sweeping list of climate-change- and social-justice-related measures including the refurbishing of every structure in the country with renewable-energy technology and the creation of millions of federally funded jobs in the green-energy sector.

A “frequently asked questions” document that accompanied the resolution referenced the complete elimination of air travel and farting cows. Ocasio-Cortez has since disavowed the FAQ, which was posted on her website, and suggested her political enemies disseminated the document to sabotage the proposal.

WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Massive oil and gas reserves found off South African coast a ‘game-changer’ By Rick Moran

Posted By on February 12th, 2019

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2019/02/massive_oil_and_gas_reserves_found_off_south_african_coast_a_game_changer.html

But will the radical-Left government allow for the full development of the find?

While many of the world’s industrial powers are looking for ways to reduce their consumption of fossil fuels, a fabulous oil discovery off the coast of South Africa promises to alter the energy future of the continent.

French state oil company Total led a consortium of companies that had been exploring off the coast of South Africa for several years. Their find has excited the entire oil industry and promises to further reduce the influence of OPEC and other big energy-producers.

ZeroHedge:

“With this discovery, Total has opened a new world-class gas and oil play and is well positioned to test several follow-on prospects on the same block,” said Kevin McLachlan, Senior Vice President Exploration at Total.

According to Total’s chief executive Patrick Pouyanne, the discovery could hold 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent of gas and condensate resources.

South Africa still imports much of its oil and gas, which makes this one find a potential game-changer for them.

South Africa is currently working on new legislation that would separate the conditions for exploring and exploiting oil and gas resources from those for traditional minerals.

Commenting on Total’s discovery, Andrew Latham, vice president, global exploration at natural resources consultancy Wood Mackenzie, said:

“Even though the well isn’t an oil discovery, if Brulpadda proves to be anywhere near as big as the estimates of up to 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent resources, it will still be a game-changer for South Africa.”

WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

China Talks With Venezuela Opposition to Protect Investments Chinese diplomats discuss debt, oil projects with Guaidó camp as pressure mounts against ally Maduro By Kejal Vyas

Posted By on February 12th, 2019

https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-holds-talks-with-venezuelan-opposition-on-debt-oil-projects-11549993261

China has been holding talks with Venezuela’s political opposition to safeguard its investments in the troubled Latin American nation, hedging its bets as pressure builds on Nicolás Maduro, the embattled leader for whom Beijing has been a vital ally.

Chinese diplomats, worried over the future of its oil projects in Venezuela and nearly $20 billion that Caracas owes Beijing, have held debt negotiations in Washington in recent weeks with representatives of Juan Guaidó, the opposition leader heading the U.S.-backed efforts to oust Mr. Maduro, according to people familiar with the talks.

“China recognizes the increasing risk of a regime change and does not want to be on the bad side of a new regime,” said R. Evan Ellis, an expert on Chinese relations in Latin America at the U.S. Army War College. “While they prefer stability, they realize they have to put eggs in the other basket.”

WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Canadian Minister Steps Down Amid Political Uproar Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suffers setback as minister at center of brewing controversy resigns 0 Comments By Paul Vieira and Kim Mackrael

Posted By on February 12th, 2019

https://www.wsj.com/articles/canadian-minister-steps-down-amid-ethics-probe-11549992251

The biggest political storm of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s term in office escalated on Tuesday with the resignation of the cabinet minister at the center of allegations that his office interfered in a criminal case.

Jody Wilson-Raybould, who until last month was Canada’s justice minister, said she was tendering her resignation “with a heavy heart” from her post as veterans-affairs minister, in a statement released on her Twitter account. Her surprise decision, for which she gave no further explanation, is the latest development in a political uproar coming just months before Mr. Trudeau hits the campaign trail to seek re-election.

Ms. Wilson-Raybould has declined to comment for nearly a week since allegations emerged that officials in Mr. Trudeau’s office tried last year to persuade her as justice minister to drop a criminal prosecution and cut a plea deal with SNC-Lavalin Group Inc., a Montreal engineering company facing bribery-and-fraud charges. She had invoked solicitor-client privilege as a reason why she couldn’t discuss the matter further, given her previous role as the Canadian cabinet’s legal adviser.

Mr. Trudeau and other government officials have vehemently denied the allegations, first revealed in a report by Toronto’s Globe and Mail.

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Marc Lamont Hill To Speak at Fundraiser for Group Whose Leaders Aided Hamas By Hesham Shehab

Posted By on February 12th, 2019

https://pjmedia.com/homeland-security/marc-lamont-hill-to-speak-at-fundraiser-for-group-whose-leaders-aided-hamas/

In March, recently fired CNN contributor Marc Lamont Hill will be the keynote speaker for a Chicago-based group the Israeli government recently declared to be “terrorists in suits.”

Hill, who was fired by CNN following a speech at the United Nations where he used the anti-Israel eliminationist rhetoric “from the river to the sea,” will speak at a fundraising event for American Muslims for Palestine (AMP). Founded in 2005, AMP promotes extreme anti-Israel views and has provided a platform for anti-Semitism. The organization seeks to delegitimize and demonize the Jewish state, and plays a leading role in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement in the United States. AMP campaigns have depicted Israel as an apartheid state and have called for an end to American aid to Israel.

A report published by the Israeli Ministry of Strategic Affairs just this month noted that leaders and senior members of AMP were involved, directly and indirectly, in providing funding assistance to Hamas.

The report added that the funding activity took place through the Holy Land Foundation (HLF) and the Islamic Association of Palestine (IAP), an organization the U.S. government alleges was set up to provide propaganda services for Hamas. Formerly the largest Islamic charity in the United States, HLF and five of its directors were convicted of multiple terrorism-related charges, including material support for terror.

The report concluded that leading figures in HLF and IAP subsequently joined AMP, and now hold senior positions in the organization.

BOOKS Comments turned off

Lust for Destruction-by Waller Newell

Posted By on February 12th, 2019

Posted: November 6, 2018https://www.claremont.org/crb/article/lust-for-destruction/

Journalist Victor Sebestyen’s Lenin: The Man, the Dictator, and the Master of Terror is a fast-paced, absorbing new biography of one of history’s greatest revolutionaries—or, if you share my perspective, political mass murderers. Scrupulously researched and vividly written, it is the first major new biography of Vladimir Lenin in 20 years and makes extensive use of the archival materials that have become available in that time. It will be an invaluable contribution to our understanding of the founder of the Soviet Union.

Much of the interest in the book has been over its revelations about Lenin’s personal life, hitherto largely unknown. Although his wife, Nadya Krupskaya, has often been portrayed as a dour helpmate in a loveless marriage who cooked and cleaned for the Iron Man, Sebestyen reveals real depth of feeling and complexity in their private lives. At the same time, Lenin carried on a passionate love affair for a decade with a beautiful French émigré, Inessa Armand, “by far the most glamorous of all the Russian émigrés in the radical circles of Paris.” His “ménage à trois” with Inessa and Nadya (who condoned the affair) was “central to Lenin’s emotional life.” According to Sebestyen, the Soviet leader was “not a monster” but, in personal relationships, “invariably kind.” He could even laugh at himself, “occasionally.” What’s more, he didn’t revel in “the details of his victims’ deaths” as did Hitler or Mao, because, for Lenin, “the deaths were theoretical, mere numbers.” I’m afraid Sebestyen may have succumbed to the temptation every biographer faces of getting too attached to his subject.

After he led the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 against the crumbling Czarist autocracy, Lenin’s socialist state quickly became a totalitarian hell of mass executions, forced collectivization, and slave labor. Newly revealed details about his personal life furnish no further insight into this vast project of institutionalized terrorism. Countless men display traits of loyalty in marriage as well as lapses from that loyalty; very few emerge as political murderers on such a grand scale. The most that these details can establish is the sickening contrast between someone capable of tenderness and affection in private life and capable at the same time of mobilizing the deaths of millions.

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

PRESIDENT TRUMP ON ILHAN OMAR

Posted By on February 12th, 2019

President Trump on Rep. @IlhanMN:https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1095382455735988225

“Her lame apology, and that’s what it was, it was lame, and she didn’t mean a word of it was just not appropriate. I think she should resign from Congress.”