Dr. Patrick Slattery’s News Roundup
A service of DavidDuke.com
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Pardoned Jewish Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky back on Russia’s wanted list
MOSCOW (JTA) – Russian authorities put Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a Jewish former industrialist who was jailed for corruption and pardoned, on the country’s most wanted list in connection with the shooting death of a city’s mayor.
Khodorkovsky, who was released in 2013 and left Russia for Switzerland after a decade in jail, is wanted for questioning in the slaying of Vladimir Petukhov, the mayor of Nefteyugansk, whose 1998 death has remained unsolved, the news agency Interfax reported Tuesday.
Formerly the head of the Yukos oil company, Khodorkovsky was arrested for corruption and sentenced in 2003 to nine years in prison. The term was extended to August 2014 after he was found guilty in a new trial of money laundering and oil theft.
Yukos was a major employer in the region, and Petukhov allegedly had a conflict with the company over nonpayment of taxes. The mayor reportedly was ready to institute criminal proceedings against Yukos.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Trump to visit Israel in December
TEL AVIV (JTA) — Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump will visit Israel on Dec. 28 and meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The meeting was scheduled two weeks ago, before Trump’s comments this week calling for a ban on Muslims entering the United States. A source close to Netanyahu told Israel’s Army Radio Wednesday that it is protocol for the prime minister to meet with presidential candidates who visit, whatever their views.
“Every presidential candidate that wants to may meet briefly with the prime minister,” the source said, according to the Times of Israel. “Netanyahu does not agree with every statement made by every candidate.”
This week, Trump called for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.” Candidates and officials from both parties have harshly condemned the proposal.
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From Russia Today
Merkel named TIME Person of the Year, beating Al-Baghdadi, Putin and Trump
Published time: 9 Dec, 2015 21:21
German Chancellor Angela Merkel © Fabrizio Bensch / Reuters Time magazine has named Angela Merkel as its person of the year, making her the first woman to receive the accolade in the past 29 years. The German leader has outpaced IS head Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and US presidential hopeful Donald Trump.
The magazine praised the EU’s longest-serving leader for her handling of the EU in times of crisis, such as the Greece debt, the massive influx of refugees, and the fight against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL).
“Not once or twice but three times this year there has been reason to wonder whether Europe could continue to exist, not culturally or geographically but as a historic experiment in ambitious statecraft,” Nancy Gibbs, Time’s managing editor, wrote in an article devoted to the winner.
“Merkel brandished a different set of values – humanity, generosity, tolerance – to demonstrate how Germany’s great strength could be used to save, rather than destroy,” she added.
However, many would disagree with Time’s appraisal. Among them would be the Greeks suffering from crippling austerity policies and the Europeans frustrated with the massive wave of refugees so warmly welcomed by the German Chancellor.
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From Russia Today
Italy hampers rubber-stamped extension of EU sanctions against Russia
Published time: 9 Dec, 2015 18:01
Italy has delayed an EU decision to extend economic sanctions against Russia, demanding the measure is discussed further within the bloc. The surprising move came at a meeting of EU envoys in Brussels on Wednesday.
“We have asked for a discussion on the matter,” said Tiziana d’Angelo, a spokeswoman for the Italian mission to the EU, Reuters reports.
EU envoys gathered to approve a six-month extension to the sanctions, which are due to expire by the end of January. The legal act has been drafted by EU Council officials following an agreement reached by EU leaders in the wings of G20 summit in Turkey last month.
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From Russia Today
‘Hopefully, no nukes will be needed’ against ISIS – Putin
Published time: 9 Dec, 2015 07:01
Vladimir Putin has praised the Russian cruise missiles fired against terrorists in Syria from the sea. He expressed hope that these weapons would not have to be armed with nuclear warheads.
Meeting in the Kremlin with Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, who reported the latest results of the anti-Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) ops in Syria, the Russian president made a notable remark.
“We must analyze everything happening on the battlefield, how the weapons operate. The Kalibrs (sea based cruise missiles) and KH-101 (airborne cruise missile) have proved to be modern and highly effective, and now we know it for sure – precision weapons that can be equipped with both conventional and special warheads, which are nuclear,” Putin said.
“Naturally, this is not necessary when fighting terrorists and, I hope, will never be needed,” the president added.
On Tuesday, a Russian Kilo-class submarine, the Rostov-on-Don, fired Kalibr-PL cruise missiles against an IS installation near the terrorists’ stronghold in Raqqa. Water-to-surface cruise missiles were launched from a submerged sub in the Mediterranean Sea, according to the Russian defense minister.
“We’ve been registering the missiles launches, flights and, of course, their hitting the targets,” Shoigu said. “We warned our Israeli and American colleagues about these launches.”
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From The Times of Israel
Rivlin lights White House menorah with ‘prayer for liberty’
Obama hails inspiration of Maccabees’ story: Outnumbered, out-armed, yet they proved freedom can prevail over tyranny, light over darkness
President Barack Obama hosted President Reuven Rivlin Wednesday evening for a Hanukkah candle-lighting ceremony, one of two official parties for the festival being held this year at the White House. Michelle Obama and Nechama Rivlin also attended.
The East Room of the White House was packed with Hannukah celebrants for the ceremony. Obama said he had been deeply moved Rivlin’s “expressions of commitment to equality and justice” when they spoke in the Oval Office earlier in the day. “Rivlin is a strong voice for equal treatment of all citizens of Israel and greater understanding between Israelis and Palestinians,” said Obama.
Obama also noted that at last year’s Hannukah celebration, the White House celebrated Alan Gross’s return from Cuba, where he had been held by the Cuban government. This year Gross was in attendance. “We are happy to have him home here today at the White House,” Obama said.
“All of us come together, along with Jews around the world, to celebrate a band of Maccabees who inspire us even today,” said Obama.
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From The Daily Mail
‘Trump’s not wrong – we can’t wear uniform in our OWN cars’: Five police officers claim Donald Trump is RIGHT about parts of London being so ‘radicalised’ they are no-go areas
- Donald Trump claims Met police are terrified in radical areas of the capital
- Scotland Yard hit back in rare statement: ‘Trump could not be more wrong’
- But several serving officers said there are some safety fears in London
- One said: ‘Trump’s not wrong. He pointed out something plainly obvious’
- Another said: ‘Islamification is occurring. You have to have extra vigilance’
- Cameron and Boris lead condemnation but Trump calls critics ‘foolish’
- 7 people per second sign 200,000-strong petition calling for UK to ban him
- Are you a serving police officer? What do you think? Email [email protected]
Serving police officers today backed Donald Trump’s claim that some Muslim communities in the UK are no-go areas because of extremism.
Several Met officers have said the ‘Islamification’ of some parts of the capital requires ‘extra vigilance’ and they can’t wear uniforms for safety reasons – despite Scotland Yard claiming the tycoon ‘couldn’t be more wrong’.
Home Secretary Theresa May tonight rejected Mr Trump’s claims, insisting: ‘The police in London are not afraid to go out and police the streets.’
The US presidential contender caused worldwide consternation yesterday after a string of incendiary remarks about Muslims, including in Britain, and said: ‘We have places in London and other places that are so radicalised that police are afraid for their own lives.’
But one serving officer said today Trump had ‘pointed out something plainly obvious, something which I think we aren’t as a nation willing to own up to’.
Another policeman said that he and other colleagues fear being terror targets and spoke of the ‘dire warning’ from bosses not to wear a uniform ‘even in my own car’.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Before White House meeting, Obama and Rivlin reaffirm strong US-Israel ties
(JTA) — In advance of their first White House meeting together, President Barack Obama and Israeli President Reuven Rivlin reaffirmed the friendship between the two allies.
At a joint news conference Wednesday, Rivlin said there is “no greater friend to Israel than the United States” and thanked Obama “from the bottom of my heart” for the U.S. military assistance and diplomatic support, according to a press pool report.
Rivlin added that “we are not at war with Islam but with extremists.”
Comparing Obama to the Hanukkah menorah’s shamash candle, which is used to light all the other candles, Rivlin said, according to a transcript provided by the White House: “We know, Mr. President, that you have lit the candle for the last seven years to show the right way for your people, and for the entire world, and we are very sure that the eighth candle that you will light in the next year will be the same, and show the whole world how to fight what we should not accept.”
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From PressTV
Mideast conflicts seek to undermine Palestinian cause: Hezbollah
The deputy leader of Lebanon’s resistance movement Hezbollah says the growing wave of militancy in the Middle East is a ploy to undermine the Palestinian cause and the fight against the illegal Israeli occupation.
Sheikh Naeem Qassem said on Wednesday that the main objective of the foreign-backed militancy in some Middle Eastern countries is to “divert the attentions away from the Palestinian cause and weaken the Arabs.”
The Hezbollah official, who was speaking in a conference on Palestine in Lebanon, said there is no trace in the occupied Palestinian territories of Takfiri terrorists, while such militants continue to wreak havoc almost in every other place in the region.
He said the only solution to the Palestinian conflict is the cessation of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands, saying Hezbollah and other resistance movements will continue to support the Palestinians in the face of the Israeli occupation.
Qassem also blasted some in the Arab world for what he called their efforts to “normalize” relations with the Israeli regime, saying those who shake hands with the officials of the Tel Aviv regime will achieve nothing.
The comments come against the backdrop of unrest in the occupied West Bank, East al-Quds and the blockaded Gaza Strip, where some 120 Palestinians have been killed in clashes with Israeli forces and settlers since early October.
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From PressTV
De Mistura: UN, Russia, US to discuss Syria crisis in Geneva
The United Nations special envoy for Syria says the UN as well as Russia and the United States will hold talks over the deadly conflict gripping Syria in the Swiss city of Geneva later this week.
Staffan de Mistura told Reuters on Wednesday that the trilateral Geneva negotiations, scheduled for December 11, were part of the preparatory work for a new round of international negotiations seeking to find a solution to the crisis.
“It’s to talk about how to better organize the future Vienna meetings,” the UN envoy said.
Two rounds of such international talks, attended by Iran, were held in the Austrian capital, Vienna, on October 30 and November 14.
At the end of the mid-November round of the Vienna negotiations, the participants agreed to meet again in “approximately one month” to review progress toward a ceasefire and the start of a political process in Syria.
Last week, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced the fresh talks on the conflict and diplomats said the negotiations were likely to be held in New York on December 18.
The news of the three-way Geneva meeting was first broken by Russia’s Ria Novosti news agency, citing Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov.
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From Russia Today
Greece evicts 2,300 migrants from Macedonian border camp (VIDEO)
Published time: 9 Dec, 2015 23:27
Greek police officers guard the perimeter where hundreds of migrants, who were stranded on the Greek-Macedonian border and blocking rail traffic, are gathered in tents after a police operation near the village of Idomeni, Greece, December 9, 2015. © Ognen Teofilovski / Reuters
Greek police have conducted an operation near the town of Itomeni on the border with Macedonia aimed at removing and further deporting from Europe more than 2,000 people, designated by officials to be “economic migrants” not coming from war zones.
“Some 2,300 foreigners of various nationalities are being moved to open hospitality facilities in Athens on board 45 buses,” the police said in a statement, cited by AFP.
The migrants who are primarily from non-war-torn Pakistan, Somalia, Morocco, Algeria and Bangladesh will be sheltered in an indoor sports stadium and disused premises at the former airbase of Hellinikon in Athens, the statement said, adding that about 350 police officers were deployed to hold the operation.
Some scuffles erupted during the eviction which resulted in about 30 arrests. However later those detained were put on the buses to Athens along with other migrants.
The humanitarian workers were asked to leave the area during the operation while journalists and photographs were told to keep the distance of about three kilometers “to protect them from any possible violence, tension or threatening and aggressive behavior.” At least three of the reporters have been even briefly detained.
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From Russia Today
Turkey detains & deports Russian journalists investigating ISIS oil trade reports
Published time: 9 Dec, 2015 03:04
The Syrian-Turkish border crossing. © Rodi Said / Reuters
Russian journalists preparing an investigative report into Ankara’s alleged involvement in the oil trade with ISIS have been detained and deported from Turkey. Moscow strongly condemned the treatment of the Rossiya 1 TV crew, demanding explanations.
“We strongly condemn the illegal actions of the Turkish authorities,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said. “Such an attitude towards the media is absolutely unacceptable.”
On Monday, the press crew of the TV program ‘Special Correspondent’, headed by Alexander Buzaladze, were detained in southeastern Turkey by authorities in civilian clothes. The journalists were preparing an investigative report into the alleged smuggling of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) oil into Turkey.
The trouble for the Rossiya 1 TV crew started only once they arrived at the border, Buzaladze said after the deportation. He told Russian state-owned channel Vesti that while the crew worked in Istanbul and Ankara they had faced no opposition from the authorities.
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Netanyahu ‘rejects’ Trump’s Muslim remarks, will meet with him anyway
In response to a news release issued by Netanyahu’s office on Wednesday evening, 37 Knesset members signed a petition urging him to cancel the Israel meeting, according to the Times of Israel.
The release did not detail Netanyahu’s objections to the remarks this week by Trump calling for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.” Republican and Democratic politicians are among the many who have condemned his remarks, including numerous Jewish leaders.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Madoff trustee sues leading Israeli universities, hospitals for $95 million
(JTA) — Irving Picard, the trustee appointed to liquidate the assets of convicted Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff and return money to his victims, has filed a $95 million lawsuit against some of Israel’s largest educational and medical institutions.
Among the defendants in the suit filed Wednesday in Tel Aviv District Court are Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Weizmann Institute, the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and Sheba Medical Center, the Israeli business daily Globes reported.
Picard’s suit, which was filed through an Israeli law firm, alleges that while the institutions unknowingly benefited from stolen money gained through their investments in an Israeli foundation, the Yeshaya Horowitz Association, they have subsequently refused to return it to the victims.
In a 2010 New York suit that is still in litigation, Picard alleged that the Yeshaya Horowitz Association and others knew at the time that Madoff’s New York investment firm was perpetrating a fraud, according to Globes.
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From PressTV
Turkey asks its citizens to leave Iraq for security concerns
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry has asked all Turkish nationals in Iraq to leave the country immediately due to security reasons.
The Foreign Ministry said in a travel advisory that Turkish citizens are recommended to leave Iraq, bar the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region.
The ministry also warned Turkish citizens against non-essential trips to Iraq, claiming that the decision was aimed at protecting the Turks against terror attacks and threats.
The decision, however, comes as anti-Turkey sentiments are growing across Iraq over Ankara’s controversial troop deployment to northern Iraq.
On December 4, Turkey deployed some 150 soldiers, equipped with heavy weapons and backed by 20 to 25 tanks, to the outskirts of the city of Mosul, the capital of Iraq’s Nineveh Province.
Ankara claimed the deployment was part of a mission to train and equip Iraqi forces in the fight against the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group.
Baghdad, however, strongly condemned the deployment of the Turkish battalion on the Iraqi territory, branding the uncoordinated act as a violation of Iraq’s national sovereignty.
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From Russia Today
‘Muslims always welcome’: Zuckerberg vows to fight Islamophobia on Facebook
Published time: 10 Dec, 2015 05:07
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg © Stephen Lam / Reuters
In the wake of growing Islamophobia worldwide as backlash over terrorist attacks and refugee crises, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg posted a public message to all Muslim users reassuring millions that they will “always be welcome” on the platform.
“If you’re a Muslim in this community, as the leader of Facebook I want you to know that you are always welcome here,” the CEO of the world largest social platform said.
I want to add my voice in support of Muslims in our community and around the world.After the Paris attacks and hate…
Posted by Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday, December 9, 2015
He said that as a Jewish person, whose nation suffered its fair share of persecutions, tolerance is something that has been embedded in Zuckerberg’s upbringings and he keeps it as a moral core that he swore to protect in his company.
“We will fight to protect your rights and create a peaceful and safe environment for you,” the 31-year-old internet entrepreneur, who recently became a father said.
“As a Jew, my parents taught me that we must stand up against attacks on all communities. Even if an attack isn’t against you today, in time attacks on freedom for anyone will hurt everyone,” Zuckerberg wrote.
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From Russia Today
Kim Jong Un says N Korea has hydrogen bomb, becomes powerful nuclear state
Published time: 10 Dec, 2015 05:05
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un © KCNA / Reuters
The North Korean leader has said the country now has a hydrogen bomb, according to the N. Korean central news agency, and is capable of using it along with nuclear warheads to defend its sovereignty.
“We managed to become a great nuclear power capable of defending the independence and national dignity of our homeland by mighty nuclear and hydrogen strikes,” N. Korean leader Kim Jong-un was cited by the Korean central news agency as saying. He also said North Korea “has to continue with actively developing its military industry.”
The statement came as Kim Jong Un was on a tour inspecting an upgraded arms plant in Pyongyang on Thursday, according to TASS quoting the N. Korean central news agency.
So far it has not been confirmed that the country has in fact designed and created a hydrogen bomb.
On February 10, 2005 N. Korea declared it had created nuclear weapons. The announcement was widely condemned by the international community. The country has since conducted underground nuclear tests three times, in 2006, 2009 and 2013.
From Russia Today
French freemasons speak out against Le Pen’s National Front victory
Published time: 9 Dec, 2015 22:05
Marine Le Pen, French National Front political party leader © Pascal Rossignol / Reuters
The leader of the French freemasons has spoken against the victory of the right-wing National Front party in the first round of French regional elections, calling it a wake-up call for the Republic.
“We should all acknowledge what it means that the National Front is the winner party in France,” Daniel Keller, the leader of the Grand Orient de France (GODF) – the largest of several Masonic organizations in France, told Le Journal du Dimanche (JDD).
On Sunday, the FN secured 28 percent of the vote nationally, according to the Interior Ministry. This is the highest ever for the anti-EU, anti-immigration party, which came first in six regions out of 13.
“If this election doesn’t become an awakening for our parties, we’ll witness the repetition of the Sunday’s results in 2017,” Keller warned, referring to the upcoming presidential elections.
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He explained FN’s unprecedented victory by saying that it has an advantage of “virginity,” having never been part of the government.
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From Ynet News
Germany: We will act against ‘Mein Kampf’ incitement
Justice Minister Shaked was met with protests upon arriving at a joint German-Israeli legal conference in Berlin, where German Justice Minister Maas promised to fight any incitement that would arise from the newly reprinted version of ‘Mein Kamp’.
Berlin- A group of Palestinian and left wing activists held a protest outside of Germany’s Federal Ministry of Justice building in Berlin on Monday, where protesters chanted against an official visit by Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked.
The protesters carried signs calling for a boycott against Israel. Some of the signs included citations from the Justice Minister’s speeches on the issues of illegal immigration from Africa and the destruction of terrorists’ homes.
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