Dr. Patrick Slattery’s News Roundup
A service of DavidDuke.com
From Russia Today
Gulf states seek nukes against Iran, had secret contacts with Tel Aviv — “ Israeli defense chief
Published time: 15 Feb, 2016 10:25
© wikipedia.org
Persian Gulf states are seeking nuclear weapons to counter “bad guy†Iran and have held clandestine meetings with Israel despite not having official ties with Tel Aviv, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon revealed at the Munich Security Conference in Germany.
“We see signs that countries in the Arab world are preparing to acquire nuclear weapons, that they are not willing to sit quietly with Iran on brink of a nuclear or atomic bomb,” Ya’alon told fellow defense ministers on Sunday, the final day of the Munich Security Conference.
Ya’alon did not name specific countries who might be interested in developing nuclear weapons and gave no evidence to back up his claims.
However, he then made a surprise statement that the Gulf states – officially hostile to Tel Aviv because of its occupation of the West Bank – had held clandestine meetings with Israel.
Click here for the full story
From The Independet
Israel boycott ban: Shunning Israeli goods to become criminal offence for public bodies and student unions
Local councils, public bodies and even some university student unions are to be banned by law from boycotting “unethical” companies, as part of a controversial crackdown being announced by the Government.
Under the plan all publicly funded institutions will lose the freedom to refuse to buy goods and services from companies involved in the arms trade, fossil fuels, tobacco products or Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Any public bodies that continue to pursue boycotts will face “severe penalties”, ministers said.
From PressTV
Turkey shelling Syria to be brought before UNSC
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is to hold a closed-door meeting over Turkey’s recurrent artillery bombardment of Kurdish positions on Syrian soil.
The council will convene on Tuesday via a request from Russia, which has voiced concerns over Turkey’s shelling of Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in northern Syria.
Meanwhile, Ankara targeted YPG positions for the third consecutive day in an attempt to stop Kurdish forces from reaching the Syrian border town of A’zaz.
“The Russian delegation is deeply concerned by the use of force by Turkey against the Syrian territory,” read a Russian email request, viewed by Reuters, to the Security Council for holding the meeting in which a senior UN official will present a brief over the situation to the council.
Ankara regards the YPG and its affiliate the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) as an ally of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been fighting for an autonomous Kurdish region inside Turkey since the 1980s.
The YPG, which controls nearly Syria’s entire northern border with Turkey, has been fighting against the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group.
Click here for the full story
From PressTV
Turkey, Saudi Arabia begin joint military drills
Turkey and Saudi Arabia have begun joint air exercises, claiming it is within the framework of cooperation and military training between the two countries.
The Turkish military said in a statement that the five-day drills started on Monday, adding that six Saudi F-15 fighter jets are involved in the military exercises.
The drills were planned in advance and are taking place in Turkey’s central region of Konya, the statement said.
Saudi Arabia and Turkey are widely believed to be among major sponsors of terrorist groups operating against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The joint drills started only a day after Brigadier General Ahmed al-Asiri, a Saudi military spokesman, said Riyadh has dispatched warplanes to the Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey, claiming that the move was in line with the so-called fight against Daesh Takfiri terrorists in Syria.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Saturday that Ankara and Riyadh could launch a ground operation in Syria “if there is a strategy.”
Meanwhile, Syrian Ambassador to Russia Riad Haddad said on Monday Ankara is planning a military incursion into Syria in order to save Daesh militants.
Click here for the full story
From Russia Today
“Huge step forward”: Russia’s FM spox Zakharova on Syria peace commitments and challenges
Published time: 16 Feb, 2016 00:40
The agreements reached by the International Syria Support Group in Munich, in spite of “unacceptable†provocations by Ankara and “ambiguous†US policies, have become an “important step†to peace in Syria, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson told RT.
Zakharova named the agreement on the nationwide cessation of hostilities among the most significant results of the ISSG meeting in Munich. In an exclusive interview with RT she also welcomed the creation of “two special groups for resolving two problems” – delivering humanitarian aid and negotiating a ceasefire in Syria.
The Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson stressed that Russia was ready to cease fire even before the Munich meeting but other countries from the ISSG “were not so enthusiastic about cessation of hostilities or ceasefire.”Establishing a direct dialog between the militaries of all countries belonging to the ISSG was also crucially important for the peace process in Syria, she emphasized. It was Russia’s goal to make the militaries “talk directly, share real information about terrorists about everything that is going on the ground,” Zakharova told RT.
“So this time, fortunately, everybody agreed [on that] and put it on the paper, so this is … a huge step forward, this brings us real understanding,” she added.
Turkey’s Syria policy is a ‘road to nowhere’
During the interview, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson also addressed the issue of the ongoing Turkish shelling of Kurdish positions as well as of some settlements in the northern Syria denouncing it as “an absolutely unacceptable situation.”
Click here for the full story
From Russia Today
Syrian army advances into Raqqa in major anti-ISIS assault
Published time: 15 Feb, 2016 08:22
© Valeriy Melnikov / Sputnik
Syrian army units and paramilitary forces are reportedly moving into Raqqa province, seizing strategically important areas along the Salamiyah-Raqqa road which leads directly into the Islamic State stronghold.
On Sunday, Syrian government forces and Palestinian armed militia captured the strategically important Tal Masbah hilltop, the last entrenched Islamic State (IS, previously ISIS/ISIL) position.
Click here for the full story
From Russia Today
Murder probe launched after new deadly brawl at Swedish asylum center (VIDEO)
Published time: 15 Feb, 2016 06:07
© / Ruptly
At least 1 person was killed and 3 injured after a fight broke out at a Swedish asylum center. An investigation has been launched with one suspect detained, but not yet identified.
The fight, which reportedly happened between refugees, took place on Saturday outside the Ljusne asylum center near Soderhamn, 240 kilometers (150 miles) north of Stockholm.
Click here for the full story
From Russia Today
Ukraine’s interior minister: I could destroy foreign support for Kiev with media bombshell
Published time: 14 Feb, 2016 17:49
Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov © Gleb Garanich / Reuters
Ukraine’s interior minister said he could drop a media bombshell that would force foreign sponsors to stop all support for Kiev. The claim comes as the cabinet hangs in peril over the resignation of a reformist economy minister, who quit citing covert corruption.
Aivaras Abromavicius announced his resignation as economy minister last week, saying he doesn’t want to be part of the plundering of Ukraine committed by corrupt officials. The move sparked a political crisis in Ukraine and resulted in the International Monetary Fund warning that it may suspend the multibillion dollar credit line to Kiev, unless it starts a genuine crackdown on corruption.
Click here for the full story
From The Independent
Assad ‘will be removed by force’ if peace talks fail, Saudi Foreign Minister claims
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will be removed by force if the peace process fails, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister has said.
“Bashar al-Assad will leave – have no doubt about it,” Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told CNN. “He will either leave by a political process or he will be removed by force.”
Saudi Arabia has sent troops and fighter jets to a Turkish military base ahead of a possible ground invasion of Syria.
Mr Jubeir said Saudi Arabia is prepared to contribute ground troops to the fight in Syria, but only as part of a US-led coalition.
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Peace Now report: 1,800 new housing starts in settlements for 2015
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Construction was started on 1,800 new housing units in Jewish settlements in 2015, with some 40 percent outside of the security fence, according to a new report.
Included in the housing starts are 1,547 permanent structures and 253 mobile units, Peace Now said in a report released Sunday. Sixty-three of the buildings were public structures, including synagogues, kindergartens and community centers, and 42 were industrial or agricultural structures.
Fifteen percent of the housing starts, or 265 housing units, were in illegal outposts, according to Peace Now.
In addition, according to the report, 32 housing units were built on private Palestinian land, almost all of them in illegal outposts. A new illegal outpost also was established, Peace Now reported, located south of the Nofei Prat settlement, located near Maale Adumim.
Click here for the full story
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
2 Jewish profs sue Boston-area college claiming anti-Semitic discrimination
(JTA) — Two Jewish professors have filed federal complaints against their Boston-area college alleging anti-Semitic discrimination.
The educators from Wheelock College, a small liberal arts school, filed the complaints with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission last week, the Boston Globe reported Sunday.
Eric Silverman and Gail Dines allege in the complaint that Wheelock’s president, Jackie Jenkins-Scott, and other administrators made their work lives miserable after they and four other professors spoke out in a 2014 letter about a lack of Jewish perspective on campus, the newspaper reported. The complaint seeks unspecified damages and attorney’s fees.
Silverman is a professor of American studies and psychology and human development who has taught at Wheelock since 2006. Dines is a professor of sociology and women’s studies professor and chairwoman of American studies at the college since 1986. Both have tenure.
Click here for the full story
From PressTV
Turkey, Saudi pursuing Syria invasion for 2 years: Assad
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says Turkey and Saudi Arabia, widely considered as the major sponsors of Takfiri terrorist groups operating in the crisis-hit country, have been trying for two years to enter Syria militarily.
Assad made the remarks in a Monday televised speech amid reports suggesting that Turkish forces have entered Syria to help foreign-backed militants fighting against the Syrian government, and that Riyadh has dispatched warplanes to the southern Turkish air base of Incirlik in what is claimed to be a deployment to fight Daesh terrorists in Syria.
Referring to a ceasefire agreement reached during a meeting of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) in the German city of Munich on Friday, Assad said any truce means preventing terrorists from reinforcing their positions.
The ISSG statement says that the ceasefire in Syria does not include areas held by groups designated as terrorist organizations by the United Nations Security Council, including Daesh and al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front.
“A ceasefire means in the first place halting the terrorists from strengthening their positions. Movement of weapons, equipment or terrorists, or fortification of positions, will not be allowed,” he said, adding that if a truce “happened, it doesn’t mean that each party will stop using weapons.”
He also said that local reconciliation agreements are the solution to the nearly five-year-long crisis in Syria, Assad noted.
The Syrian president also stressed that fighting terrorism is the government’s first and foremost priority at present and in the future.
Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. According to a new report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research, the conflict has claimed the lives of over 470,000 people, injured 1.9 million others, and displaced nearly half of the country’s pre-war population of about 23 million within or beyond its borders.
From PressTV
Security restored to three villages in Syria’s Aleppo
Syrian armed forces and allied volunteer fighters have recaptured three villages north of the country as the battle continues to purge militants from areas across the province of Aleppo.
Syria’s official news agency SANA said on Monday that army units, in cooperation with popular defense groups, restored security and stability to Masqan village in the northern countryside of the city of Aleppo.
The report said Syrian forces had earlier in the day liberated the village of Kafr Naya, located around 25 kilometers north of the city of Aleppo, from the occupation of terrorists.
The gains came hours after the allied forces seized control over the village of al-Tiba and its surrounding farms in eastern countryside of Aleppo. The village is located near the Kwairis military air base and its eastern neighborhood, which the Syrian forces have retaken from Daesh Takfiri forces operating in the region.
SANA said a demining operation had begun in Tiba while other sources said an operation was ongoing in the vicinity of the thermal power station near the village where Daesh has built huge fortifications. The report said 12 machinegun-equipped vehicles were completely destroyed in the offensive.
Syria has been recording back-to-back victories in its battle against militants in Aleppo, especially since pro-government forces managed to break the siege on two key villages near the Turkish border, namely Nobbul and Zahra, less than two weeks ago.
Click here for the full story
From Russia Today
Dripping blood alerts airport staff to corpse on cash-filled plane
Published time: 16 Feb, 2016 00:48
© Karoly Arvai / Reuters
Airport authorities in Zimbabwe impounded a US cargo plane after blood was seen dripping from the jet and millions of rand, South Africa’s currency, were discovered on board.
The MD-11 trijet owned by Florida-based Western Global Airlines was carrying a consignment for the South African Reserve Bank (SARB), the country’s central bank, from Munich, Germany to Durban, South Africa.
The captain of the plane requested a technical landing at Harare International Airport in Zimbabwe for refueling, after initially having the same request rejected by authorities in Maputo, Mozambique.
After landing, airport staff noticed blood dripping from the airliner and while initially thinking it was that of a dead bird, a body of a dead man was actually discovered, Zimbabwe’s Herald newspaper reported.
“The jet crew was questioned and they said they hit a bird in the air. But then a search was made and the body of an adult male fell out,” a source told African News Agency.
The nationality of the deceased is not yet known but a police investigation is underway, with a spokesman for the South African Reserve Bank telling The Telegraph they believe the man “is presumed to be a stowaway.”
Click here for the full story
From Russia Today
EU lifts 12-year Belarus sanctions after thanking Minsk for ‘constructive role in the region’
Published time: 15 Feb, 2016 21:32
Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko © Gleb Garanich / Reuters
Five-term Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko heads a list of 170 officials allowed to travel to Europe, after the European Union indefinitely abandoned sanctions, citing improved human rights within the country, and its role in the Minsk agreement.
“The Council acknowledges the steps taken by Belarus over the last two years that have contributed to improving EU-Belarus relations,” said an official statement from the European Council, commending Minsk on staging elections “in an environment free from violence” in October, and releasing “political prisoners” last August.
“The Council also values Belarus’ constructive role in the region,” said the statement, in an indirect recognition of the role the country has taken on in mediating the fallout between Russia and Ukraine, leading to the signing of the latest Minsk Accords, a year ago.
Belarus’ President Alexander Lukashenko, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko, Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel and France’s President Francois Hollande walk as they take part in peace talks on resolving the Ukrainian crisis in Minsk, February 11, 2015. © Reuters
The sanctions, which also include operating restrictions aimed at three state-owned industrial giants, had been suspended in October.
Click here for the full story
From Russia Today
ISIS claims responsibility for southern Russian car bombing that killed 2, injured 17 (VIDEO)
Published time: 15 Feb, 2016 06:48
© gazetachernovik / Instagram
Two people have been killed and 17 injured by a car bomb at a police checkpoint near Derbent in the southern Russian Republic of Dagestan. Islamic State terrorists claimed responsibility in a tweet. FSB says a local terrorist group was used for the job.
Reports say a Lada Priora approached the checkpoint and the bomb was detonated. It was later determined that a police officer pulled the driver over to check their papers. Witnesses say this is when they heard a powerful blast.
Two police officers were killed in the blast and 17 people were injured, including police personnel and civilians, Russian media report, citing the Dagestan Health Ministry.
The blast was reportedly so strong it completely incinerated four vehicles parked in the vicinity of the checkpoint. A video posted online shows the scene of the massive explosion, with black smoke billowing from vehicles near the blast, as police get to work. Part of the checkpoint building was destroyed.
According to the Russian National Antiterrorist Committee (NAC), the explosion at the police checkpoint in Dagestan was caused by the detonation of an improvised explosive device.
Click here for the full story
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Israel, EU to put relationship ‘back on track’
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel and the European Union have agreed to put relations “back on track,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu and European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini in a weekend conversation discussed tension between Israel and the EU.
European-Israeli relations have deteriorated since November, when the EU adopted long-discussed guidelines to label products made in West Bank Jewish settlements and on the Golan Heights. The EU has also decided that its agreements with Israel do not apply to the West Bank, Golan Heights or eastern Jerusalem.
In response to the labeling decision, Israel froze all EU involvement in Israeli-Palestinian dialogue.
Click here for the full story
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Here’s a look at Justice Scalia’s Jewy moments
WASHINGTON (JTA) — It’s a matter of dispute as to whether Antonin Scalia, who died Saturday, was the Supreme Court’s most conservative jurist. Some think Clarence Thomas deserves the title, while others say Samuel Alito may soon claim it.
Scalia was, however, the conservative jurist likeliest to stir passions with his acerbic, slashing style apparent both in his opinions and his speaking appearances. Conservatives adored him as a truth-teller upholding the Constitution, liberals derided him as an ideologue trashing the founding document.
That also was generally reflected in Jewish reactions to Scalia: Orthodox Jewish groups praised many of his parsings of church-state separations, non-Orthodox groups critiqued them.
A typical instance of divided reactions was in 1992, when he referred to Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum, the Satmar rebbe who had fled Nazi occupied Hungary, in his dissent to the ruling that said New York State had overreached in creating a separate school district for the Hasidic enclave of Kiryas Joel.
Click here for the full story
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Jewish billionaire David Rubinstein donates $18.5M to repair Lincoln Memorial
(JTA) — Billionaire businessman and philanthropist David Rubenstein has donated $18.5 million to repair and restore the Lincoln Memorial.
The donation from Rubenstein, the co-CEO of The Carlyle Group, to the National Park Foundation’s Centennial Campaign for America’s National Parks was announced on Monday, President’s Day. In the past few years, he has given tens of millions of dollars to fix national parks and historical institutions.
His most recent gift will allow the National Park Service to repair damaged brick and marble masonry and clean the memorial; conserve the Jules Guerin murals located above the memorial’s inscriptions; create approximately 15,000 square feet of functional space including exhibit, education and research areas; and add an elevator to improve accessibility, the park service said in a statement.
“These improvements will hopefully enable more people to better understand and appreciate Abraham Lincoln’s remarkable leadership during one of the most trying periods in American history,” Rubenstein said in the statement. “I am humbled to be a part of honoring this great man and preserving this iconic memorial for future generations.”
Click here for the full story
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Debt-ridden Kanye West pleads to Facebook’s Zuckerberg: Invest $1B in me
(JTA) — Kanye West in a Twitter plea asked Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to invest $1 billion in his “ideas,” claiming he is tens of millions in debt.
West tweeted early Sunday, minutes before taking the stage to perform on “Saturday Night Live.” The musical artist said he was “53 million dollars in personal debt.”
Mark Zuckerberg invest 1 billion dollars into Kanye West ideas
From Russia Today
Israeli border police officer flips Palestinian man from wheelchair (VIDEO)
Published time: 15 Feb, 2016 20:48
An Israeli border police officer was captured on film flipping a disabled Palestinian man’s wheelchair to the ground in Hebron on Sunday.
Moments prior to the incident, a 14 year-old Palestinian girl was shot after she attempted to stab a police officer.
Wheelchair user Majed al-Fakhouri said he had been trying to reach the girl to attempt first aid. The officer told him to turn back. “He then turned me over and my head hit the ground,” he told The Daily Telegraph.
An Israeli police spokesman said the incident was being investigated. The girl who was shot, Yasmin A-Tamimi was taken to hospital in a serious condition.
Click here for the full story
From Russia Today
Greek police fire tear gas at rally protesting construction of refugee center on tourist island
Published time: 14 Feb, 2016 21:04
Tear gas is fired as people protest against the so-called “hotspot” being built for refugees and migrants on the Aegean island of Kos, on February 14, 2015. © Stringer / AFP
Police have fired tear gas at protesters on the Greek island of Kos, where several thousand people rallied against the construction of a refugee facility.
Kos is a tourist hub that found itself on the frontline of Europe’s migrant crisis last year. Locals fear that migrants will deter holiday makers from visiting the island.
“Some 2,000 people have turned up to the protest on Sunday,” RT’s Nikki Aaron reported from Kos.
“We want them to come, pass by, make their papers, and go away wherever they want to go. Here is a tourist place; we have people that come here for holidays – they can’t stay together [with refugees],” one of the demonstrators explained.
Waving Greek national flags, the people marched from the center of the island to the abandoned army base outside the village of Pylio where the migrant “hotspot” is to be erected.
Click here for the full story
From The Times of Israel
Samantha Power: Iran deal compliance ‘strong’ so far
On visit to Israel, US envoy says Tehran has met conditions of nuclear agreement to date, but warns it remains regional threat
Washington’s UN ambassador Samantha Power said in Israel on Monday that compliance with the Iran nuclear deal was so far “strong,” but warned Tehran was still helping fuel conflict and remained a threat.
“What this deal does if implemented — and so far the implementation has been strong but it’s very early days — is it cuts off the pathways to a nuclear weapon and it gives us much more visibility into Iran’s program than we had before,” Power told a group of Israeli students.
She added later that “Iran of course is still a threat. Iran is supporting terrorism. Iran is supporting parties to conflict like the Assad regime (in Syria)”.
Last July’s Vienna agreement between Iran and the permanent five members of the UN Security Council plus Germany (P5+1) sees sanctions lifted in return for Tehran ensuring its nuclear program remains for civilian use.
Israel strongly opposed the deal with its arch-foe, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warning it would not block Iran’s path to nuclear weapons.
Click here for the full story
