Monthly Archives: June 2017

Why Are Atheists Generally Smarter Than Religious People? – HuffPost

Posted: June 12, 2017 at 7:54 pm

For more than a millennium, scholars have noticed a curious correlation: Atheists tend to be more intelligent than religious people.

Its unclear why this trend persists, but researchers of a new study have an idea: Religion is an instinct, they say, and people who can rise above instincts are more intelligent than those who rely on them.

Intelligence in rationally solving problems can be understood as involving overcoming instinct and being intellectually curious and thus open to non-instinctive possibilities, study lead author Edward Dutton, a research fellow at the Ulster Institute for Social Research in the United Kingdom, said in a statement. [Saint or Spiritual Slacker? Test Your Religious Knowledge]

In classical Greece and Rome, it was widely remarked that fools tended to be religious, while the wise were often skeptics, Dutton and his co-author, Dimitri Van der Linden, an assistant professor of psychology at Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands, wrote in the study.

The ancients werent the only ones to notice this association. Scientists ran a meta-analysis of 63 studies and found that religious people tend to be less intelligent than nonreligious people. The association was stronger among college students and the general public than for those younger than college age, they found. The association was also stronger for religious beliefs, rather than religious behavior, according to the meta-analysis, published in 2013 in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Review.

But why does this association exist? Dutton set out to find answer, thinking that perhaps it was because nonreligious people were more rational than their religious brethren, and thus better able to reason that there was no God, he wrote.

But more recently, I started to wonder if Id got it wrong, actually, Dutton told Live Science. I found evidence that intelligence is positively associated with certain kinds of bias.

For instance, a 2012 study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychologyshowed that college students often get logical answers wrong but dont realize it. This so-called bias blind spot happens when people cannot detect bias, or flaws, within their own thinking. If anything, a larger bias blind spot was associated with higher cognitive ability, the researchers of the 2012 study wrote in the abstract.

One question, for example, asked the students: A bat and a ball cost $1.10 in total. The bat costs $1.00 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost? The problem isnt intuitive (the answer is not 10 cents), but rather requires students to suppress or evaluatethe first solution that springs into their mind, the researchers wrote in the study. If they do this, they might find the right answer: The ball costs 5 cents, and the bat costs $1.05.

If intelligent people are less likely to perceive their own bias, that means theyre less rational in some respects, Dutton said. So why is intelligence associated with atheism? The answer, he and his colleague suggest, is that religion is an instinct, and it takes intelligence to overcome an instinct, Dutton said. [8 Ways Religion Impacts Your Life]

The religion-is-an-instinct theory is a modified version of an idea developed by Satoshi Kanazawa, an evolutionary psychologist at the London School of Economics, who was not involved in the new study.

Called the Savanna-IQ Interaction Hypothesis, Kanazawas theory attempts to explain the differences in the behavior and attitudes between intelligent and less intelligent people, said Nathan Cofnas, who is pursuing a doctorate in philosophy at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom this fall. Cofnas, who specializes in the philosophy of science, was not involved with the new study.

The hypothesis is based on two assumptions, Cofnas told Live Science in an email.

First, that we are psychologically adapted to solve recurrent problems faced by our hunter-gatherer ancestorsin the African savanna, Cofnas said. Second, that general intelligence (what is measured by IQ tests) evolved to help us deal withnonrecurrentproblems for which we had no evolved psychological adaptations.

The assumptions imply that intelligent people should be better than unintelligent people at dealing with evolutionary novelty situations and entities that did not exist in the ancestral environment, Cofnas said.

Dutton and Van der Linden modified this theory, suggesting that evolutionary novelty is something that opposes evolved instincts.

The approach is an interesting one, but might have firmer standing if the researchers explained exactly what they mean by religious instinct, Cofnas said.

Dutton and Van der Linden propose that, if religion has an instinctual basis, intelligent people will be better able to overcome it and adopt atheism, Cofnas said. But without knowing the precise nature of the religious instinct, we cant rule out the possibility that atheism, or at least some forms of atheism, harness the same instinct(s).

For instance, author Christopher Hitchens thought that communism was a religion; secular movements, such as veganism, appeal to many of the same impulses and possibly instincts that traditional religions do, Cofnas said. Religious and nonreligious movements both rely on faith, identifying with a community of believersand zealotry, he said.

I think its misleading to use the term religion as a slur for whatever you dont like, Cofnas said.

The researchers also examined the link between instinct and stress, emphasizing that people tend to operate on instinct during stressful times, for instance, turning to religion during a near-death experience.

The researchers argue that intelligence helps people rise above these instincts during times of stress. [11 Tips to Lower Stress]

If religion is indeed an evolved domain an instinct then it will become heightened at times of stress, when people are inclined to act instinctively, and there is clear evidence for this, Dutton said. It also means that intelligence allows us to be able to pause and reason through the situation and the possible consequences of our actions.

People who are able to rise above their instincts are likely better problem-solvers, Dutton noted.

Lets say someone had a go at you. Your instinct would be to punch them in the face, Dutton told Live Science. A more intelligent person will be able to stop themselves from doing that, reason it through and better solve the problem, according to what they want.

The study was published May 16 in the journal Evolutionary Psychological Science.

Original article on Live Science.

See the rest here:
Why Are Atheists Generally Smarter Than Religious People? - HuffPost

Posted in Atheism | Comments Off on Why Are Atheists Generally Smarter Than Religious People? – HuffPost

Atheist Hating San Antonio Mayor Loses Re-Election Bid – Patheos (blog)

Posted: at 7:54 pm

After blaming generational poverty on broken people who dont believe in God, San Antonio Mayor Ivy Taylor loses her bid for re-election.

ABC reports:

Following a Saturday runoff election, the Alamo City has elected a new mayor into office. Ron Nirenberg garnered 54.59 percent of the votes with 54,010 votes, beating out incumbent Ivy Taylor who obtained 45.41 percent of the votes with 44,919 votes.

Earlier this year, while speaking at a mayoral forum, Mayor Taylor was asked about the deepest systemic cause of generational poverty.

Mayor Taylor replied:

To me, its broken people. People not being in a relationship with their Creator, and therefore, not being in good relationship with their families and their communities, and not being productive members of society. I think thats the ultimate answer

(Watch: San Antonio Mayor Ivy Taylor claims poverty is caused by broken people who dont believe in God )

In short, Mayor Taylor claims generational poverty is caused by broken people who dont believe in God, essentially making the ludicrous claim that atheism causes poverty.

The mayors remarks about poverty reflect an astonishing and willful ignorance. Perhaps more important, there is something deliberately cruel and profoundly vicious in Taylors attempt to claim the root cause of poverty is people who dont share her religious superstition, and that those individuals who do not share her religious superstition are somehow broken people.

After the election results came in, Taylor conceded the race, telling her supporters:

A majority of the votes have come in. It doesnt look like its going the way that we anticipated this evening. But you know what? I am so grateful to God I am at peace. I am so thankful to God for each and every person in this room, for your support, for your prayers, for being here.

Ron Nirenberg, Taylors opponent, and the new mayor of San Antonio, told his supporters:

Tonight, the voters got it right on a lot of things. Tonight, the voters rejected the politics of division and false choices. And they said yes to a bigger and brighter vision of inclusion, of diversity, of fairness, or respecting each and every person in San Antonio, no matter if you live on the North Side, the South Side, the East Side, the West Side or any place in between. Tonight, the voters said yes to a mayor for all of San Antonio.

Bottom line: Mayor Taylor is an intolerant conservative Christian with no respect for poor people or atheists. Her remarks indicate a callous and insensitive disregard for both. As such, she has no business serving as Mayor of San Antonio.

Atheist Hating San Antonio Mayor Ivy Taylor (Image via SanAntonio.gov)

View original post here:
Atheist Hating San Antonio Mayor Loses Re-Election Bid - Patheos (blog)

Posted in Atheism | Comments Off on Atheist Hating San Antonio Mayor Loses Re-Election Bid – Patheos (blog)

‘Knights of Sidonia’ is the Pinnacle of Gritty Mecha Anime – Inverse

Posted: at 7:53 pm

Anime fans in the U.S. who grew up watching Gundam Wing on Cartoon Networks Toonami block will love the darker, more mature take on the mecha subgenre of anime theyll find with Netflixs Knights of Sidonia.

Whereas series like Power Rangers, Voltron, and various Gundam iterations are lighthearted in their tone and small in their stakes, Knights of Sidonia is a dark post-apocalyptic story of mecha vs. kaiju that feels an awful lot like Battlestar Galactica meets Pacific Rim and its not afraid to depict some truly grisly deaths.

In Knights of Sidonia, the year is 3394 and the half-million remaining humans live aboard a massive arc named Sidonia as it hurdles through space. As the series begins, Sidonia has already spent 1,000 years fleeing from the gauna, the monstrous shapeshifting alien race that destroyed Earth. A select few Knights pilot Gardes, Sidonias name for giant mechs.

The protagonist Nagate Tanikaze grew up hidden underground with his grandfather, training daily in a Garde simulation. He emerges from hiding to join a society he never knew, and he eventually becomes one of humanitys greatest defenders. Its a job he trained his entire life for, and through his eyes, the viewer slowly learns truly how desperate existence is on Sidonia.

Special humans piloting giant mecha is a tried-and-true premise for an anime that could very easily be a bore here, but rather than just throw mecha pilots into an endless war with flashy fight scenes, Knights of Sidonia deftly explores the practical implications of its setting.

What would humanity really look like after a thousand years aboard a massive space arc? What technologies or innovations would be invented for the sake of survival? How dangerous and gritty would their lives be? Knights of Sidonia has a lot to say about these questions and so much more.

Much like the recently released Blame! anime film, Knights of Sidonia is adapted from a manga by Tsutomu Nihei and produced by Polygon Pictures. Both anime feature a very similar dystopian sci-fi design aesthetic with 3D character animations (at times its even implied that both series exists in the same universe). Whereas many sci-fi anime can come across colorful and refined, both these series make a point of presenting worlds with a uniquely weathered look that conveys how grim and desperate these dystopias really are.

Sure, both Blame! and Knights of Sidonia present high-tech settings in the worlds of tomorrow, but after millennia, even our future could become the distant past. High-tech gadgets are transformed into ancient relics by the passage of time. Even Sidonia itself is of brutish, practical design, built right into a massive asteroid.

In Sidonias society, innovations like human cloning, asexual reproduction, and human genetic engineering are commonplace, along with an adaptation that allows most humans to gain nutrients via photosynthesis rather than actually eating. And one of the shows most interesting characters is Izana Shinatose, who is actually a nonbinary third gender. She has androgynous features and, like all third genders, her body can shift into either male or female when she finds a mate.

These adaptations do not arise out of creative or inspired feats of innovation; they arise out of necessity in a resource-starved and highly volatile existence. Much of it is very cool, but as a whole the series does a great job of communicating how bleak life is on Sidonia.

Starvation might be a concern, but the real threat comes from the gauna, which are faceless, emotionless, formless blobs that are nearly impossible to kill. Because theyre so grotesquely inhuman, theyre that much more of an absolute terror.

Not only are the fight scenes in Knights of Sidonia truly horrifying even with Gardes, humanity is hopelessly outmatched and the frequent deaths are truly gruesome but the despair permeates throughout and beyond the militarized portion of society.

Humanity is totally screwed. If you dont die from a gauna attack of some kind, then youll probably just die of starvation at some point. In this, Knights of Sidonia is a lot like Attack on Titan in space.

Knights of Sidonia is easily one of the best anime available on Netflix right now, and you cant watch it anywhere else. Sure, its overwhelmingly dark and gritty, but at least theres a fun and hilariously cute momma bear that takes care of Nagate:

Because what would an anime be without some bizarre comic relief?

See the article here:
'Knights of Sidonia' is the Pinnacle of Gritty Mecha Anime - Inverse

Posted in Human Genetic Engineering | Comments Off on ‘Knights of Sidonia’ is the Pinnacle of Gritty Mecha Anime – Inverse

NATO partners with Polish university for e-learning – NATO HQ (press release)

Posted: at 7:53 pm

Cuiavian University in Wloclawek, Poland agreed on 7 June 2017 to support NATOs work with partners on defence education through advanced distance learning (ADL).

Defence education is a key agent of transformation and NATO is using it to support institutional reform in partner countries. Through its Defence Education Enhancement Programme (DEEP), the Alliance advises partners on how to build, develop and reform educational institutions in the defence and military domain in the form of peer-to-peer conversations. E-learning is becoming a global trend in defence and military domains and DEEP is using it to improve efficient military education in some partner countries.

Cuiavian University is supporting Ukraines DEEP programme in building e-learning capacity for the National Defence University in Kyiv. It is also an active institution within the European Higher Education Area under the Bologna Process which sets the basic framework for the three cycles of higher-education qualifications, bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees and in the European Union student exchange programme Erasmus.

Cuiavian University is proud that NATO has acknowledged our strong e-learning capacity and we are keen to expand our mutual cooperation from the DEEP Ukraine to other NATO partners, said Prof. Stanislaw Kunikowski, Rector of Cuiavian University.

Being active in both the European Union (EU) and NATO, the university is keen to bolster joint NATO-EU future cooperation in the ADL area by developing common e-learning modules together with the DEEP Programme and the European Security and Defence College.

Your university has proven to be a reliable provider of knowledge and expertise and the Defence Education Enhancement Programme will work with you for the benefits of NATO partners military education institutions that want to reform their educational system and introduce new teaching techniques, said Mariusz Solis, DEEP coordinator at NATO.

Visit link:
NATO partners with Polish university for e-learning - NATO HQ (press release)

Posted in NATO | Comments Off on NATO partners with Polish university for e-learning – NATO HQ (press release)

Putin talks NATO, gay rights in interviews with Oliver Stone – ABC News

Posted: at 7:52 pm

Russian President Vladimir Putin says that early on in his tenure he floated the idea of Russia joining NATO.

In a series of interviews with American film director Oliver Stone, Putin said he inquired about Russia joining the alliance when then-U.S. President Bill Clinton visited Moscow in 2000.

"During the meeting I said: 'Let's consider an option that Russia might join NATO,'" Putin recalled. "Clinton said 'Why not?' But the U.S. delegation got very nervous."

Putin had said in an interview several months before Clinton's June 2000 visit that he wasn't opposed to Russia joining the alliance, but his comment to Stone was the first public indication of his raising the issue.

Stone conducted the interviews in 2015-17. They are to be shown on U.S. cable channel Showtime in four parts beginning Monday. The first two hour-long segments were made available to news media before the showing.

In the segments, Putin portrays Russia under his leadership as seeking to improve ties, but frustrated by Washington's "imperialist mentality."

Despite Putin's onetime interest in joining NATO, in the interviews he criticized the alliance for expanding eastward to Russia's borders.

Putin defended the country's controversial law on banning dissemination to minors of "propaganda" legitimizing homosexuality, saying "the reasoning behind this law is to provide children with the opportunity to grow up without impacting their consciousness." Although there is widespread animosity toward homosexuality in Russia and authorities regularly deny gay rights activists permission to rally, Putin said "our society is liberal-minded to a great extent."

After Putin noted that there is no formal prohibition of gays in the military, Stone asked if Putin would take a shower on a submarine with a gay crewman.

"I prefer not to go to the shower with him. Why provoke him?" Putin said.

He also provided a rare bit of detail about his family, telling Stone that he had grandchildren. Little is known about his two daughters and Putin gave no additional clues, saying only that they were accomplished women.

"You're a very lucky man," Stone told him.

The segments also show Stone praising the film "Doctor Strangelove" as a formative insight into the Cold War, and he then watches it with Putin, who doesn't appear impressed. Stone then presents him with the package for the DVD of the film, forgetting to include the disc itself, and Putin jests: "Typical American gift."

Go here to see the original:
Putin talks NATO, gay rights in interviews with Oliver Stone - ABC News

Posted in NATO | Comments Off on Putin talks NATO, gay rights in interviews with Oliver Stone – ABC News

Macedonia renews push to join NATO under provisional name – POLITICO.eu

Posted: at 7:52 pm

Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov | Louisa Gouliamaki?AFP via Getty Images

Membership of the alliance has been blocked by a dispute with Greece over the Republic of Macedonias name.

By Harry Cooper

6/12/17, 1:25 PM CET

Updated 6/12/17, 7:11 PM CET

Macedonias new government will make a renewed push to join NATO under a provisional name, in an attempt to unblock an objection from Greece that has prevented the Balkan nation from becoming part of the military alliance for close to a decade.

Greece believes that the countrys name represents a territorial claim over its northern province, also named Macedonia, and vetoedthe countrys membership in 2008.

But the new center-left government, which came to power last week,sees NATO membership as a top priority.It hopes that Greeces veto of its application under the U.N.-recognized name FYROM (the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) canbe unlocked bya charm offensive towards Athens.

Once admitted to the club,Macedonia (officially the Republic of Macedonia) then intends to restart discussions with Greece over its name.Many in the 2 million strong Balkan nationobject to the FYROM name because they believe it denies the legitimacy of their nationhood.

[Joining NATO as FYROM] will help create a climate where we can tackle the name itself, Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov told POLITICO, This blocking [by Greece] does not contribute to a more friendly public opinion in Macedonia towards Greece because they shut the door to NATO, to the EU.

If we focus on the problem of the rule of law, I dont think the Balkans will be a theater for geopolitical games Macedonias Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov

We need to reach out to our Greek friends, said the former ambassador, who is in Brussels to discuss the proposals with senior NATO officials. Hewill visit Athens on Wednesday to discuss the name issue with ministers there.The nicer we are, the more difficult it would be to block us, he said.

The new government hopes that worries among NATO members about Russian involvementin the Balkans will provide diplomatic momentum for Macedonia to follow Montenegro as the alliances 30thmember.

We are a veteran of the process, said Dimitrov, who said he believed Macedonia wouldbe ready to join very soon. Doing so would, he said, have a calming effect on the region which is currently slightly shaky.

Joining NATO however, wouldnt necessarily lead to more difficult relations with Russia, Dimitrov said, suggesting he was very eager to improve relations with Russia, provided doing so doesnt contradict Macedonias NATO and EU ambitions.

If we focus on the problem of the rule of law, I dont think the Balkans will be a theater for geopolitical games, headded.

Prime Minister Zoran Zaev is also in Brussels on his first official visit for talks about EU membership with Council President Donald Tusk, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and Commissioner for Enlargement Johannes Hahn. Macedonia has been a candidate country since 2005 but discussions have been blocked by Greece since 2009 over the name dispute.

Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev is welcomed by European Council President Donald Tusk at the European Council in Brussels on June 12 | Emmanuel Dunand/AFP via Getty Images

Yearsof political crisis, triggered in 2015when evidencewas published that former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski was wiretappingthousands of Macedonians, culminated last month when a mob entered the parliament and beat up center-left politicians, including the new prime minister.

After resisting for five months, President Gjorge Ivanov allowed Zaev to form a government, under pressure from NATO and the EU, which Dimitrov said, spoke with a single voice in condemning the violence.

While the appetite for new EU member countrieshas waned in recent years, Dimitrov noted an uptick in EU interest in recent months due to concerns about instability in the Balkans. Both Mogherini and Hahn have visited the region in recent months as well as playing host to Balkan leaders in Brussels.

If Europe is interested to help us, that would be great, he added, saying he would be happy for the European Commission to lay out red lines to ensure accession talks remain on track. But we dont want to join for the sake of joining.

The rest is here:
Macedonia renews push to join NATO under provisional name - POLITICO.eu

Posted in NATO | Comments Off on Macedonia renews push to join NATO under provisional name – POLITICO.eu

Trump backs NATO defence pledge but again demands nations pay up – Express.co.uk

Posted: at 7:52 pm

Getty

Mr Trump pledged the United States support for the mutual defence of NATO members, casting aside concerns that his failure to mention the commitment had weakened the alliance.

He said: I'm committing the United States to Article 5.

"Certainly we are there to protect, and that's one of the reasons that I want people to make sure we have a very, very strong force by paying the kind of money necessary to have that force.

But yes, absolutely, I'd be committed to Article 5."

Mr Trump made his comments while speaking to reporters at a news conference on Friday with visiting Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.

Article 5 states that an attack on one member is an attack on all members and binds the allies to come to that country's defence.

But, during his trip to Europe to meet NATO members, Mr Trump spent more time berating them for their lack of contributions than committing to Article 5.

Getty

It left the heads of European countries deeply concerned at his lack of commitment and the fact that he didnt mention the clause in a speech at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

Instead, in that speech, Mr Trump demanded allies live up to a pledge to spend two per cent of their gross domestic product on defence by 2024.

There are rumours he had wanted to demand three per cent instead from member states, but had backtracked on that idea.

Getty

He did not specifically mention Article 5, which has only been invoked once, after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

However, The White House later reaffirmed the commitment for him in a statement announcing that the president would visit Poland next month as part of his second foreign trip.

They billed it as showing America's support of Poland, as well as the president's commitment to strengthening NATO's "collective defence."

Mr Trump's omission in Brussels raised concerns on both sides of the Atlantic.

But White House aides said the president's support was implied even though he deliberately did not utter the words.

Still allies had questions about Trump's belief in the value of NATO, which he had termed "obsolete" during the presidential campaign.

On Friday, Trump noted that only a handful of NATO's 29 members - Montenegro joined just this week - were meeting the two per cent pledge. But he said the US would abide by its treaty obligations.

He said: "We're going to make NATO very strong.

"You need the money to make it strong. You can't just do what we've been doing in the past."

Read more:
Trump backs NATO defence pledge but again demands nations pay up - Express.co.uk

Posted in NATO | Comments Off on Trump backs NATO defence pledge but again demands nations pay up – Express.co.uk

Morning Joe Bashes Trump for Not Supporting NATO…After Trump Announces Support for NATO – NewsBusters (blog)

Posted: at 7:52 pm


NewsBusters (blog)
Morning Joe Bashes Trump for Not Supporting NATO...After Trump Announces Support for NATO
NewsBusters (blog)
Following President Trump's declaration of support for NATO last Friday the cast of Morning Joe denounced and decried the President on Monday for -- not supporting NATO? Nicolle Wallace bemoaned the current state of foreign relations and how Donald ...

and more »

Continue reading here:
Morning Joe Bashes Trump for Not Supporting NATO...After Trump Announces Support for NATO - NewsBusters (blog)

Posted in NATO | Comments Off on Morning Joe Bashes Trump for Not Supporting NATO…After Trump Announces Support for NATO – NewsBusters (blog)

Armenia is a Reliable Partner to NATO, Says Official – Asbarez Armenian News

Posted: at 7:52 pm

NATOs Special Representative for the South Caucasus James Appathurai

YEREVAN (ArmRadio)NATO is grateful for Armenias contributions to operations in Afghanistan and Kosovo, NATOs Special Representative for the South Caucasus James Appathurai told a press conference in Yerevan.

He said the issue of increasing the number of troops participating in NATO-led missions will be on the agenda of the Armenian Defense Ministers upcoming visit to Brussels.

All NATO allies are concerned by the increasing level of armaments in the region also because its increasing the level of hostilities and political tension. Two of the members of the OSCE Minsk Group France and US are NATO allies. We can all see from the activities and statements of the Minsk Group like all NATO allies they are committed to a peaceful resolution. Overall, NATOs position is to seek a reduction in tension, a reduction in hostilities and a peaceful resolution, Appathurai said.

We do follow very closely the security situation in the region, receive regular updates, and there is a higher level of concern among the allies with regard to the situation. As you know over the past year we have seen more military activity, higher level of military rhetoric, casualties and military exchanges, he added.

NATO is not directly engaged in the Karabakh issue. Our position is to support the OSCE Minsk Group. We would support any steps by the two countries or the Minsk Group that would help decrease tensions.

We fully welcome the balanced foreign policy that Armenia has. It causes us no complication that Armenia is in the CSTO or the Eurasian Economic Union. From NATO point of view Armenia is and has been a reliable partner, Appathuirai said, adding that he sees no drastic slips forward, because Armenia does not have such intensions, either.

Well continue the static cooperation and the practical improvements where it makes sense for both parties, he stated.

Read more:
Armenia is a Reliable Partner to NATO, Says Official - Asbarez Armenian News

Posted in NATO | Comments Off on Armenia is a Reliable Partner to NATO, Says Official – Asbarez Armenian News

Trump Shoots Down NATO Article 5 Fears – Patriot Post

Posted: at 7:52 pm

National Security Desk Jun. 12, 2017

In May, Donald Trump boldly warned, NATO members must finally contribute their fair share and meet their financial obligations, for 23 of the 28 member nations are still not paying what they should be paying and what they are supposed to be paying for their defense. This is not fair to the people and taxpayers of the United States. The natural response from the fake media was to float fake speculation over Trumps devotion to Article 5. As defined on NATOs website, Article 5 provides that if a NATO Ally is the victim of an armed attack, each and every other member of the Alliance will consider this act of violence as an armed attack against all members and will take the actions it deems necessary to assist the Ally attacked.

Well, any speculation that Trump would hypothetically ignore Article 5 was put to rest late last week when he stated: Im committing the United States to Article 5 and certainly we are there to protect. And thats one of the reasons that I want people to make sure we have a very, very strong force by paying the kind of money necessary to have that force. Just like that, yet another leftist narrative goes down in flames. Weve explained before why concern over Article 5 was pointless given Trumps vocal support of it at a 9/11 memorial event. Unsurprisingly, the media failed to connect the dots. What Trump advocates is a NATO course correction, but that doesnt mean he has any intention of letting thugs bully our allies. Just another example of the media generating news instead of reporting it.

Read more here:
Trump Shoots Down NATO Article 5 Fears - Patriot Post

Posted in NATO | Comments Off on Trump Shoots Down NATO Article 5 Fears – Patriot Post