The US is dropping calls for Assad to go because the Syrian regime is a better bet than Isis
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Netanyahu’s government may be near collapse, report says
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, with Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon at Netanyahu’s office in Jerusalem, Nov. 15, 2015. (Emil Salman/Pool/Flash90)
(JTA) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government may be on the verge of collapse according to Israel’s Channel 10.
In a report Friday night, the TV station quoted unnamed “party leaders” saying that Netanyahu’s surprise move to bring the right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party into the coalition may be backfiring on him.
In the past eight days, two ministers have resigned: Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, of Likud, following reports that he would be replaced with the hawkish Avigdor Liberman, and Environmental Minister Avi Gabai of Kulanu. Both harshly criticized Netanyahu in their resignation announcements.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
NY Times editor calls out Donald Trump for ignoring supporters’ anti-Semitic tweets
A tweet sent to Jonathan Weisman depicts the journalist as a concentration camp inmate and Donald Trump as a Nazi guard. (Screenshot from Twitter)
(JTA) — A New York Times editor who has received a deluge of anti-Semitic tweets from supporters of Donald Trump is calling on the presumptive Republican presidential nominee to denounce the invective and support its targets.
In an article published Thursday, Jonathan Weisman summarizes the deluge of tweets he has received from writers identifying themselves with handles like “Trump God Emperor,” “CyberTrump” and “@DonaldTrumpLA.”
Their tweets have insulted his “Ashkenazi intelligence,” included a doctored image of the gates of Auschwitz and featured a menorah made of the number 6 million.
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From Russia Today
Poroshenko appoints former NATO chief Rasmussen ‘non-staff adviser’
Published time: 28 May, 2016 01:43
Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko (L) greets Anders Fogh Rasmussen © Mykola Lazarenko / Reuters
A former NATO Secretary General has been chosen as a new “non-staff” adviser to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, according to a decree bearing his signature. However, the document implies that the ex-chief is yet to agree to the appointment.
“Appoint Anders Fogh Rasmussen as adviser to the President of Ukraine outside the official staff (subject to his consent),” says the decree also published on the Ukrainian president’s official website.
Rasmussen was the twelfth Secretary General of NATO in the period from August 2009 to September 2014. He was also Danish Prime Minister from 2001 to 2009. In 2014, Poroshenko awarded Rasmussen, who still was NATO Secretary General at that time, with the Order of Freedom – the highest Ukrainian award for foreign citizens – for his “significant personal contribution to the development of cooperation between Ukraine and NATO as well as for considerable support for Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.”
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From PressTV
Iraqi forces liberate two more villages near Fallujah
The Iraqi army, backed by volunteer fighters, has liberated two more villages from Daesh Takfiri terrorists in the western province of Anbar, closing in on the militant-held city of Fallujah.
Iraqi media said forces wrested control over the villages of Bakareh and Mukhtar on Saturday.
Tens of thousands of Iraqi forces launched a massive operation on May 22 to recapture Fallujah, the first Iraqi city to fall to Daesh. They have already recaptured several towns and villages on the city’s outskirts.
Abdelwahab al-Saadi, the top commander in charge of the Fallujah operation, said “CTS (counter-terrorism service) forces, Anbar emergency police and tribal fighters… reached Tareq and Mazraa camps” south and east of Fallujah.
“These forces will break into Fallujah in the next few hours to liberate it from Daesh,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Iraqi forces have managed to help over two thousand people, including children, escape Fallujah, according to the Iraqi broadcaster Alsumaria.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Captain America is a secret Nazi, and people are going crazy about it
Chris Evans playing the title role in the 2016 film “Captain America: Civil War.” (Screenshot from YouTube)
The new Captain America comic book includes an epic reveal, and some people are not happy about it.
When fans ran out to grab Marvel Comics’ “Captain America: Steve Rogers #1” on its release Wednesday, they were not expecting this. Captain America discloses in the issue that he is in fact a secret operative of the evil, formerly Nazi organization, Hydra.
Captain America has been a symbol of heroism for years, that all appears to be a lie https://t.co/oi9RfUUoyc pic.twitter.com/0EnA9DwxXO
— CNN (@CNN) May 26, 2016
From Russia Today
‘Not dangerous, but in danger’: Pope Francis mourns drowned refugees as illegal crossings soar
Published time: 29 May, 2016 02:46
Pope Francis holds a life vest as he meets with youths at the Vatican May 28, 2016. © Gregorio Borgia / Reuters
Pope Francis has called for compassion, saying asylum seekers are “not dangerous but are in danger.” His comments come as hundreds died and more than 13,000 people were rescued by Italy this week.
During his meeting in the Vatican with hundreds of children the Pope showed them a life jacket of a drowned girl he was given by a Spanish rescuer.
“He brought me this life jacket and, crying a little bit, he said: ‘Father, I failed. There was a little girl in the sea and I wasn’t able to save her. All I could reach was her life jacket’” the Pope said.
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From Russia Today
Amputations & stoning: Malaysia govt backs Islamic penal law
Published time: 28 May, 2016 20:29
© Damir Sagolj / Reuters
The Malaysian government has pledged its support for an Islamic penal code seeking to expand the jurisdiction of Shariah law by introducing harsh punishments like amputations and stoning, shocking its predominantly multi-ethnic society.
Prime Minister Najib Razak’s government unexpectedly submitted for parliamentary approval a controversial bill that had been proposed by the Islamist group Parti Islam se-Malaysia (PAS), local media reported on Saturday.
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From Russia Today
Far-right anti-migrant rally sweeps Paris (VIDEO, PHOTOS)
Published time: 28 May, 2016 19:09
Protesters from far-right movement Generation Identitaire take part in a demonstration against migrants on May 28, 2016 in Paris. © Matthieu Alexandre / AFP
A far-right rally has been held in Paris with hundreds of young people taking to the streets to join the demonstration organized by the French anti-immigration Generation Identitaire movement to protest against “islamization.”
Hundreds of people marched through the streets of Paris waving French national flags and holding giant banners with “Generation Identitaire” and “Native Youth” written on them. They also sang the Marseillaise – the French national anthem.
According to one of the witnesses, up to 500 people joined the rally.
The protesters chanted anti-immigration and anti-islamization slogans such as “No to islamization,” “the French are angry” and “Here is our home!” They also burned flares and smoke bombs.
The demonstrators marched peacefully through the streets of the French capital, without any clashes with police reported. They eventually gathered at Place Monge not far from the Natural History Museum, were they staged a rally.
The rally, which took place under the slogan “We are home!” was organized by the French far-right youth movement Generation Identitaire formed in 2012 as the youth wing of the far-right Bloc Identitaire – a regionalist nativist French and European activist movement.
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From Russia Today
Activist throws chocolate cake in German Left Party leader’s face at congress (VIDEO)
Published time: 28 May, 2016 15:11
© Liberty Channel / YouTube
An angry anti-fascist activist threw a creamy chocolate cake at a top official of Germany’s Left Party at a party congress. The activist says the action was prompted by the politician’s anti-refugee stance.
Sahra Wagenknecht, an outspoken leader of Die Linke’s parliamentary faction, was targeted by an activist who threw a chocolate cake at her face during the party convention in the city of Magdeburg on Saturday.
The cake attack was reinforced by other protesters throwing leaflets all over the place. A security detail took them away, while Wagenknecht was quickly surrounded by fellow party members, who covered her with their jackets in front of the cameras and escorted the MP out of the hall.
“This is an assault not only on Sahra, but an assault on us all,” Die Linke’s party chief Katja Kipping told the convention shortly after the cake attack.
Gregor Gysi, another party heavyweight, wrote on his Facebook that “whoever throws cakes has no arguments,” before adding that actions such as this “have never happened to our party congresses before and must be ruled out in future.”
Surprisingly, the assault was not orchestrated by the far-right, as it might seem at a glance. The leaflets were signed by an “Anti-fascist cake initiative for the misanthropes,” and equated the left leader Wagenknecht to the rightwing populist AfD party and anti-immigrant PEGIDA movement.
The “anti-fascists” also accused both Die Linke and AfD, the two implacable political rivals, of playing protest agendas and doing nothing to change things. The leaflets claimed, without reference, that Wagenknecht’s husband, “in 2005 and long before the creation of the AfD,” demanded that native Germans be safeguarded from “foreign workers.”
Wagenknecht appeared before the party members shortly afterwards, met by applause and a standing ovation. “Stupid actions like this will not deter me from being actively engaged into policy-making for the Left Party,” she was quoted as saying by Die Welt newspaper.
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From Russia Today
French Senate to consider resolution on easing anti-Russia sanctions
Published time: 28 May, 2016 04:47
© Philippe Wojazer
France’s Senate will debate a draft resolution calling for the easing and gradual lifting of anti-Russia sanctions on June 8. The draft resolution has already been supported by the body’s Committee on European Affairs.
“Deteriorating relations between Russia and the EU are only causing regret. We believe that gradual easing of sanctions imposed against Russia is necessary, particularly in the field of economy,” Yves Pozzo di Borgo and Simon Sutour, the two senators who introduced the draft resolution, said as quoted by TASS.
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From Russia Today
Putin: Romania ‘in crosshairs’ after opening NATO missile defense base
Published time: 27 May, 2016 21:18
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras (R) attend a news conference, after their meeting at the Maximos Mansion in Athens on 27 May 2016. © Orestis Panagiotou / Reuters
During a visit to Greece intended to repair ties with the EU, Vladimir Putin said that Russia has “no choice” but to target Romania, which has recently opened a NATO missile defense base, and Poland, which plans to do so within two years.
“If yesterday people simply did not know what it means to be in the crosshairs in those areas of Romania, then today we will be forced to carry out certain measures to ensure our security. And it will be the same with Poland,” Putin said during a joint press conference with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in Athens on Friday.
The Russian President was referring to the Deveselu facility that officially became operational in May after nearly a decade and $800 million of planning and construction.
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From The Times of Israel
An estimated 2,000 people poured into central Tel Aviv on Saturday night to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s pick of Yisrael Beytenu head Avigdor Liberman as Israel’s new defense minister in last week’s coalition shakeup.
Carrying Palestinian and Israeli flags, protesters marched towards the Tel Aviv Likud party headquarters on King George street chanting: “Liberman [is a] racist and a fascist,” and “Liberman is the minister of war.”
Protesters waved banners denouncing extremism, racism, and violence in Israel, as well as signs proclaiming “Jews and Arabs refuse to be enemies” and “Israel, Palestine, two states for two peoples.”
The rally, organized by the Joint (Arab) List, the left-wing Meretz party, and the left-wing Peace Now organization, was held under the headline “Building the opposition: A new way for Israel.”
Citing police estimates, Hebrew media reports put the number of demonstrators at around 2,000.
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From PressTV
Any talks with Israel must be time-capped: Palestinian president
The Palestinian president has rejected the idea of open-ended talks with Israel, saying any future negotiations with the regime in Tel Aviv should have a time cap.
Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday that if an upcoming Paris conference succeeds in re-launching the long-stalled Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, it must include mechanisms for the proper implementation of its potential resolutions.
Abbas, who was speaking to Arab foreign ministers in Cairo, called for a monitoring committee to be formed in the June 3 Paris gathering to oversee the possible agreements in the talks.
The Palestinian leader and allies in the occupied West Bank have welcomed France’s initiative to hold an international conference, which aims to kick-start a new round of so-called peace talks between Israel and Palestinians more than two years after the two sides left the negotiating table.
The Tel Aviv regime, has, however, rejected the French initiative, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeating his previous statements about the need for direct negotiations without preconditions which, he says, are the only way to reach a final settlement with the Palestinians.
Israel’s continuous defiance of international calls for pulling out of the occupied West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem) is viewed as a major reason behind the failure of previous initiatives.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Watch
Steven Spielberg, in Harvard commencement speech, says anti-Semitism on the rise
(JTA) — Speaking at Harvard University’s commencement, filmmaker Steven Spielberg said he was “wrong” as a kid to think anti-Semitism “was fading.”
Spielberg, whose 99-year-old father Arnold sat in one of the first rows at his address before the Ivy League university’s class of 2016, told the graduates Thursday that the world “is full of monsters” espousing “racism, homophobia, ethnic hatred, class hatred” and “religious hatred.”
Spielberg also offered a veiled criticism of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, saying, “We are a nation of immigrants — at least for now” and calling on graduates to vote in the upcoming election.
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From Russia Today
Russia to launch yearly manned flights to Moon starting 2025
Published time: 28 May, 2016 17:22
© Amr Dalsh / Reuters
Russia plans to launch one or two manned space missions to the Moon each year between 2025 and 2040, a source in the leading research institute of Russia’s Roscosmos state space corporation told TASS.
The yearly manned space flights, part of Russia’s moon exploration program, will include flyovers and landings on the lunar surface. In order to achieve these goals, Russia plans to use a new type of a manned spacecraft called the Federatsiya (Federation).
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From Russia Today
Austria seizes Hitler’s birthplace to save it from Neo-Nazis
Published time: 28 May, 2016 15:44
A memorial stone at the site of the birth of Adolf Hitler. © Wikipedia
The Austrian government has submitted a bill to formally seize the house where Adolf Hitler was born in a move to try and protect the birthplace of the Nazi dictator from its occupation by Neo-Nazis.
“Representatives of the Interior Ministry have been trying for several years to buy the property, but these attempts failed… Now the only option is to transfer ownership to the Austrian Republic through expropriation,” Austria’s Interior Ministry said. The bill was sent by the ministry on Friday.
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From Russia Today
Promoting abstinence & faithfulness does little to prevent HIV – Stanford study
Published time: 28 May, 2016 13:54
© Siphiwe Sibeko / Reuters
Anti-HIV campaign efforts to promote abstinence and faithfulness in sub-Saharan Africa could have just taken a nosedive. At least according to one study, which seriously questions the efficacy of HIV prevention using the approach.
It’s possible that many people are taking issue being loyal to just one partner as an alternative, since that idea is part of the package. But major US-funded programs are failing, especially Pepfar, which, according to the Stanford study, is “the largest funder of abstinence and faithfulness programming” in the region.
The program invested over $1.4 billion between 2004 and 2013, lead author Nathan Lo, medical PhD candidate at Stanford says. But he and co-authors “were not able to detect any population-level benefit from this programme.”
The 14 African countries, where Pepfar did its work between 1998 and 2013, showed no significant difference that would indicate they were having any effect on risqué lifestyles as compared to eight other countries that received no support.
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From Russia Today
No alcohol & fireworks: US military restricts troops in Okinawa after murder, rape
Published time: 28 May, 2016 09:42
Okinawa residents stage a protest against a murder of the 20-year-old Rina Shimabukuro, in front of the gate of Camp Foster in Kitanakagusu, Okinawa prefecture on May 22, 2016. © Jiji Press / AFP
The US military in Japan said they are restricting all celebrations and off-base alcohol consumption for its servicemen in Okinawa after an employee was arrested on suspicion of murdering a woman and a marine pleaded guilty to raping a tourist.
The decision was announced by Lieutenant General Lawrence Nicholson at a press conference at US base in Okinawa, home to about 62 percent of all US troops in Japan.
“We should not be out shooting fireworks. We should not be out having large celebrations and parties while the Okinawan people are in mourning. If we really believe we are part of the Okinawan community, then we too must be in mourning,” Nicholson said.
According to the military official, the move comes not as punishment, but as a sign of respect to the Japanese people.
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From The Times of Israel
German police probe Britons’ ‘Hitler salute’ at Buchenwald
Neo-Nazi group posts photo of two people performing gesture in room used to store corpses of some 56,000 people killed at camp
The head of the Buchenwald Memorial site on Thursday blamed growing right-wing populism in Europe for an incident in which members of a British neo-Nazi group appear to have performed a “Hitler salute” at the former concentration camp.
German daily Bild reported that a picture posted on a social media site linked to the group National Action showed a blurry image of two people holding the far-right group’s flag, their right arms raised in salute. The photo was posted on the group’s Twitter page. It seems to have been removed.
The picture had the caption “Execution Room @ Buchenwald 2016,” and “Meat Hooks,” with an arrow pointing to hooks on the ceiling used to hang victims of the Nazis.
The Buchenwald Memorial Foundation said it filed a criminal complaint to police after being informed of the picture.
Inmates at the Buchenwald concentration camp, days after liberation (US Army/US Defense Visual Information Center/Wikimedia Commons)
