Over 1000 'Scientists' Sign "Dissent From Darwinism" Statement

Earlier this month, a long kept list of Ph.D. scientists who “dissent from Darwinism” reached a milestone - it crossed the threshold of 1,000 signers.

“There are 1,043 scientists on the ‘A Scientific Dissent from Darwinism’ list. It passed the 1,000 mark this month,” said Sarah Chaffee, a program officer for the Discovery Institute, which maintains the list.

“A Scientific Dissent From Darwinism” is a simple, 32-word statement that reads:

“We are skeptical of claims for the ability of random mutation and natural selection to account for the complexity of life. Careful examination of the evidence for Darwinian theory should be encouraged.”

Launched in 2001, the list continues to collect support from scientists from universities across America and globally. Signers have earned their Ph.D.s at institutions that include Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Cornell, Princeton, Brown, Dartmouth and the University of Pennsylvania. Others on the list earned their doctorates at Clemson, UT Austin, Ohio State, UCLA, Duke, Stanford, Emory, UNC Chapel Hill and many others universities. Still other signers are currently employed as professors across the nation.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-02-11/over-1000-scientists-sign-dissent-darwinism-statement

We must be ready to use ‘hard power’ against Moscow and Beijing – UK defense chief

The UK must be ready to use ‘hard power’ against Russia and China, defense chief Gavin Williamson has said. The remark has raised eyebrows in Moscow, which calls it “irrelevant” to reality and aimed at securing a larger budget.

The UK needs to strengthen its "lethality" and must be ready to "use hard power" to uphold it interests against nations like Russia and China, Secretary of State for Defense Gavin Williamson said on Monday.

Delivering a speech at the Royal United Services Institute in London, he accused "resurgent" Moscow of boosting its "military arsenal" to bring former Soviet states like Georgia and Ukraine "back into its orbit."

The UK defense chief lashed out at Beijing as well, warning the audience that China is "developing its modern capability and commercial power."

We have to be ready to show the high price of aggressive behavior, ready to strengthen our resilience.

The politician made the remarks as London prepares to send its largest warship, the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, to the South China Sea on a mission to enforce freedom of navigation rights.

Williamson’s statement was met with a mixed reaction in Russia, with the nation’s embassy in the UK calling it “completely irrelevant” to reality, yet “worrying” in its militaristic spirit.

“Certainly, it’s convenient to threaten society with the so-called ‘Russian threat’, distracting it from the relevant internal and external problems that Great Britain faces today,” the embassy said in a statement.

“Apart from that, the British minister is pursuing a very particular goal with such statements: painting our country as an ‘aggressor’, he is trying to steadily expand the state funding of the UK’s military-industrial complex.”

Williamson, 42, is known for pushing Britain to reassert its role as an influential military power. He also often makes headline-grabbing bombastic statements. In September, commenting on plans to send British troops to the Arctic, he called the region the nation’s "backyard."

At the end of last year, he unveiled plans to build military bases in the Far East and the Caribbean, suggesting that it will help the UK to become a "true global player" after leaving the EU.

During the tensions over the Skripal poisoning case, Williamson went on a fiery tirade against Moscow, saying that Russia should "go away and shut up."

https://www.rt.com/news/451189-gavin-williamson-speech-army/

Backed by UNSC? 5 moments from Guaido’s interview with RT that don’t quite add up

Did Caracas steal money from Russia and has Venezuela’s self-proclaimed leader Juan Guaido got solid backing from the UNSC? RT breaks down an interview with Guaido, looking at whether some of his claims are more than far-fetched.

Speaker of the nation’s parliament and opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself 'interim president' of Venezuela last month, challenging the authority of the sitting President Nicolas Maduro. Guaido’s declaration was backed by the US and its allies in Europe and South America. Nations, like China, Russia, Mexico and Iran continue to recognize Maduro as the leader of Venezuela.

The politician spoke exclusively to RT Spanish, partly resorting to some eyebrow-raising statements and 'facts.'

Endorsed by UN Security Council

Juan Guaido claimed that the UN Security Council (UNSC) not only discussed, but also "endorsed the support for the process which we are doing now."

On January 26, the UNSC indeed met to deal with the crisis in Venezuela, but it failed to reach a unanimous agreement. As the body noted in a press statement, the council members remained "divided" in their assessment of the situation on the ground. No resolutions in support of Juan Guaido and declaring himself 'interim president' of Venezuela were passed or even voted on.

As a matter of fact, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made a general statement urging "all actors to lower tensions and pursue every effort to prevent violence and avoid any escalation."

Sanctions began last week

Going further, the self-proclaimed leader said that "the [dire] humanitarian situation in Venezuela and the sanctions began a week ago."

"A week ago!" he stressed. The latter is correct if only taking into account the most-recent round of sanctions imposed by the US on January 28, which targeted the government, as well as the financial and energy sector.

https://www.rt.com/news/451157-juan-guaido-rt-interview-venezuela/