Dr. Patrick Slattery’s News Roundup
A service of DavidDuke.com
From Russia Today
‘Sunshine of the spotless mind’: Russia rebuts NATO accusation of it ‘weaponizing’ migrant crisis
From Russia Today
Austria is not Germany’s ‘distribution hub’ for refugees – Chancellor Faymann
Faymann shifted the responsibility for tackling the refugee crisis on Germany by saying that it “should set up a daily quota and then bring these refugees directly from Greece, Turkey or Jordan,” as he gave an interview to the Austrian Kurier on Tuesday.
The situation where “several thousands of people are waved through every day, and, on the other hand, Germany informs us that today it will only allow 1,000 or 2,000 into the country,” is not acceptable for Austria any more, he told Kurier.
From PressTV
Kurdish fighters retake strategic hill in surprise attack in Aleppo
A coalition of mostly Kurdish and Syrian forces has recaptured a strategic region from Takfiri terrorists in Syria’s northwestern province of Aleppo.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) retook Castello hill, which overlooks a major road in Aleppo, from the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front during their operation on Wednesday.
According to Syrian state media, the liberation of the hill effectively severs terrorist supply lines between Aleppo’s eastern and southern regions.
SDF and Syrian army forces are currently engaged in a major operation aimed at liberating the militant-held town of Aleppo and are successfully regaining grounds from the terrorists.
The surprise attack came on the fifth-day of a US-Russia brokered ceasefire that came into force on February 27. As the truce does not include Daesh and al-Nusra terrorists it will not undermined by the assault.
Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. According to a February 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 Russia Today
EXCLUSIVE: First Western journalist to visit ISIS says US wants to ‘divide’ Syria
“There is a move now from the rebels to separate their brigades from those of the terrorists, and this gives an opportunity to attack Al Nusra and other Al Qaeda groups, without attacking the rebels,” the 75-year-old told RT in a Skype interview, saying he had spoken to several sources inside the country, since the US and Russia-mediated agreement came into force.
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Biden to visit Israel 6 years after diplomatic row over building
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Vice President Joe Biden will visit Israel for the second time since a 2010 trip set off a diplomatic row over Israeli building in eastern Jerusalem.
Biden is scheduled to arrive for a two-day visit on March 8, and will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin in Jerusalem, as well as with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, the White House said in a statement issued Wednesday.
“His arrival will include leaving the plane, a red carpet and handshakes. There will be no welcoming ceremony and no speeches,” according to a statement issued Wednesday by Israel’s Government Press Office.
During Biden’s 2010 visit, Israel announced plans to authorize 1,600 units in a Jewish neighborhood of predominantly Arab eastern Jerusalem.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Mark Zuckerberg is the world’s richest Jew, according to Forbes billionaire list
(JTA) — Mark Zuckerberg is the sixth richest person in the world, and the richest Jew, after accumulating more wealth than anyone else in the past year.
Eleven of the 50 richest people in the world are Jewish, according to the 30th annual Forbes billionaires list released Tuesday. The list features five Jews in the top 15 and seven in the top 25 spots.
Zuckerberg, 31, added $11.2 billion to his net wealth, giving him a total fortune of $44.6 billion and moving him up to No. 6 on the list from No. 16 last year. The surge sends the Facebook founder past last year’s richest Jew, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, and runner-up, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
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From PressTV
Police clash with protesters in Turkey’s Diyarbakir
Violent clashes have erupted in Turkish volatile town of Diyarbakir as people continue to demand an end to a crippling curfew imposed on the area.
Police on Wednesday used water cannon and tear gas to stop protesters marching toward the Sur district to demand an end to the lockdown of the area.
Reports said clashes were continuing in the central parts of Diyarbakir as protesters set fire to boxes and containers in the middle of the streets.
Diyarbakir, Turkey’s biggest Kurdish majority city in the southeast, has been under a lockdown since December 2 as the government continues with its crackdown in a bid to root out suspected militants of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or the PKK, in the area.
The clashes came hours after a bomb exploded in the central Yenisehir district, located just north of Diyarbakir, with officials blaming the PKK, saying one person was killed and four others wounded in the incident.
Ankara has decided to partially lift a similar curfew in Cizre, another flashpoint town in the Kurdish-dominated southeast, but it says that the lockdown in Diyarbakir will continue as the violence has not fully subsided.
Residents of Cizre began returning home Wednesday only to find scenes of devastation and entire buildings in ruins. They escaped the town in mid-December when a heavy security operation began against alleged positions of the PKK.
Turkish army says it has managed to kill around 670 suspected PKK members since the crackdown began in late July. Officials from the pro-Kurdish Democratic Peoples’ Party (HDP) say, however, that many of those killed were civilians.
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From PressTV
Lebanon’s Hariri says will continue talks with Hezbollah
Former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri says he is prepared to keep domestic dialogue with the Hezbollah resistance movement, after the group was designated a terrorist organization by the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council [(P)GCC].
Hariri made the remarks during a news conference on Wednesday in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
He did not make any comments regarding the council’s decision to list the resistance group as terrorist, but said he aimed to continue meetings with Hezbollah “to avoid sedition” in Lebanon.
Hezbollah, a key political and military force in Lebanon, has been fighting Daesh terrorists operating in Syria. The group has also been fighting the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.
The recent move by the (P)GCC, which comprises Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain, and Kuwait, comes weeks after Riyadh announced that it was cutting USD 4 billion in aid to Lebanese security forces.
The aid was cut after Lebanon failed to follow Riyadh’s lead in endorsing joint anti-Iran statements at separate meetings held in Cairo and Jeddah.
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From Russia Today
‘They won’t disappear’: Refugees flee to safer parts of Calais ‘Jungle’ amid demolition
Smoldering logs, debris, burned down or set-ablaze shelters are all part of the scenery at the Calais “Jungle” camp. Realizing that its demolition is inevitable, migrants are still refusing to move away from the camp. Many refugees remain desperate to get to Britain, which is why they are refusing accommodation in official asylum centers, where they fear they will be forced to claim asylum in France.
Although the southern part of the camp is on the verge of complete disappearance, many migrants are hoping to “buy time” and move to the northern part, which has not yet fallen under the demolition plans, Polly Boiko reports.
From Ynet News
EU authorizes transfer of EUR 252.5 Million to Palestinians
Europe says assistance to be used to support ‘daily lives of Palestinians’ and ‘to ensure functioning’ of the PA, reaffirms commitment to two-state solution.
The European Commission authorized the transfer of EUR 252.5 million on Tuesday. It was the first assistance package to the Palestinian Authority this year, and comes as a continuation of its annual commitment to providing financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority.
“The European Union renews its concrete commitment to the Palestinians,” said EU High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security Affairs Federica Mogherini. Mogherini said that the assistance package is geared towards helping the lives of individual Palestinians, including those living in refugee camps. “Through this package, the EU supports the daily lives of Palestinians in the fields of education and health, protecting the poorest families, and also providing the Palestinian refugees across the country with access to essential services,” she added.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Germany launches new attempt to ban main neo-Nazi party
BERLIN (JTA) — Germany is trying again to ban the country’s main neo-Nazi party.
Three days of hearings began Tuesday in Germany’s top court – the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe – to examine the constitutionality of outlawing the far-right National Democratic Party of Germany, or NPD.
An attempt to ban the party failed on a legal technicality in 2003. Observers say a second failure would be devastating.
At issue is whether the NPD poses a threat to democracy. It is difficult to ban a party in Germany due to post-Nazi era laws designed to safeguard free speech.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Indiana anti-BDS bill passes state Senate
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The Indiana Senate overwhelmingly approved a bill banning state dealings with entities that boycott Israel or its settlements.
The bill approved 47-3 on Tuesday, with bipartisan backing, defines “the promotion of activities to boycott, divest from, or sanction Israel” as meeting the standard of “extraordinary circumstances” necessary under state law to mandate divestment from a company.
The state House of Representatives passed the measure in January. Gov. Mike Pence, a Republican who was a pro-Israel leader when he was in the U.S. Congress, is expected to sign the bill into law.
“This will place Indiana among the select vanguard of states that have publicly defended the Jewish State of Israel using proactive legislation,” said a statement Wednesday by the Jewish Affairs Committee of Indiana, which led the lobbying effort for the bill.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
NYC council members drafting bill to fight campus anti-Semitism
NEW YORK (JTA) — Members of the New York City Council’s Jewish caucus are drafting legislation aimed at combating anti-Semitism at the City University of New York.
Councilman Mark Levine, who chairs the 14-member caucus, said he expects legislation to be submitted within a month, the New York Post reported Wednesday. The law would require CUNY officials to report all incidents of bias at its campuses to the council.
“We’re not convinced that the university is adequately tracking what is clearly a pattern of bigotry,” Levine told the Post.
On Monday, the Post reported that James Milliken, the chancellor of CUNY, a 24-campus public university in New York City, had appointed two attorneys to investigate claims of anti-Semitism. According to the Post, the school will also establish a task force to address campus bigotry.
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From Russia Today
Revered abroad, divisive at home: Last Soviet leader Gorbachev turns 85
Gorbachev is celebrating his birthday on Wednesday by receiving some 150 guests, including family members, friends, former colleagues and people working in his charity foundation. Just days ago, the foundation presented Gorbachev’s new book of memoirs.
In the West, Gorbachev is best known for dramatically easing the tension of the Cold War, reducing arms, withdrawing Soviet troops from Afghanistan and Eastern Europe, and pushing for liberal reforms. He is the man who US President Ronald Reagan asked to tear down the Berlin wall, the symbol of a split Europe and divided world.
Domestically, however, Gorbachev is far from being universally praised, even though it’s now a quarter of a century since he stepped down. Under his watch the USSR went through a profound economic crisis, which eventually resulted in the savings of millions of people simply disappearing. His crusade against alcohol was disastrous, and led to a bloated black market for liquor and wasteful destruction of wineries.
