Dr. Patrick Slattery’s News Roundup

A service of DavidDuke.com

From The Independent

The Arab Spring reported and misreported: foreign intervention in Libya and the last days of Gaddafi In the fourth excerpt from his new book, Patrick Cockburn recalls the aftermath of the Libyan revolution and the overthrow of Colonel Gaddafi in 2011. Hopes were soon to be dashed, as a barbaric regime gave way to something much worse Patrick Cockburn

Wednesday 20 April 2016

Rebels fire a rocket-propelled grenade at a Libyan air force fighter jet near the Mediterrannean town of Ra’s Lanuf, 2011 Getty Images

I was sceptical from an early stage about the Arab Spring uprisings leading to the replacement of authoritarian regimes by secular democracies. Optimistic forecasts I was hearing in the first heady months of 2011 sounded suspiciously similar to what I had heard in Kabul after the fall of the Taliban in 2001 and in Baghdad after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003. In each of the three cases, there was the same dangerous conviction on the part of the domestic opposition, outside powers and the international media that all ills could be attributed to the demonic old regime and a brave new world was being born. This seemed very simple-minded: I was very conscious that these police states – be they in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Syria, Yemen or Bahrain – were the product as well as the exploiters of threats to their country’s independence from abroad as well as social, sectarian and ethnic divisions at home. Journalists, who earn their bread by expressing themselves freely, were particularly prone to believe that free expression and honest elections were all that was needed to put things right.



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From Ynet News

Obama receives embarrassing reception in Riyadh

While Saudi King Salman attends welcome ceremony at Riyadh airport for Gulf leaders, he skips welcome ceremony for President Obama; instead relatively low-ranking Riyadh governor welcomes Obama, reflecting the strained ties between the Gulf kingdom and the US.

US President Barack Obama is making what appears to be his final in-office visit to Saudi Arabia to meet with Gulf leaders. Unfortunately for Obama, the most memorable part of his visit will not be the results of Thursday’s meetings, but rather the humiliating reception he was given on Wednesday at the Riyadh airport.

While the elderly Saudi King Salman Bin Abd al-Aziz attended an official airport reception of Gulf leaders, he did not bother to greet Obama at the airport upon his arrival. Instead, Riyadh Governor Prince Faisal Bin Bandar Bin Abd al-Aziz, a relatively low-level official, welcomed the US president upon his arrival.



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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Congressional panel queries Education Dept. on campus anti-Semitism

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Citing reports of an increase in anti-Israel activity on college campuses, a bipartisan congressional task force on anti-Semitism asked U.S. Education Secretary John King to outline how his department is tracking anti-Jewish bias. The letter sent Wednesday to King by 38 members of the U.S. House of Representatives who belong to the Bipartisan Taskforce for Combating Anti-Semitism cites reports of 500 anti-Israel programs on campuses in 2014-2015 and 29 Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaigns sponsored by student groups in the same period, which it said were respectively a 38 percent and 21 percent increase over the previous academic year. The signatories said in the letter that they “hope you share our view that any campus activity that threatens, harasses, or intimidates Jewish students should not be overlooked simply because it is presented as ‘anti-Israel’ or ‘anti-Zionist.’” It asks King how many cases of anti-Semitism the department’s Office for Civil Rights is currently investigating; what instructions regional department staffers get to detect anti-Semitic bias, and whether they specifically receive guidance on how to ascertain whether discourse about Israel devolves into “hostile environments;” and whether staffers are told that according to a 2004 Department of Education directive, staffers may regard hostility targeting a faith group as equivalent to hostility targeting an ethnic group.

Click here for the full story From PressTV Certain countries unwilling to resolve Syria crisis: Halqi Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi ©AP Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi says a number of Western and regional countries are not willing to see a political solution to the conflict gripping the Middle Eastern state. In an interview with Russia’s RIA news agency on Thursday, Halqi accused Saudi Arabia, Turkey, France, Britain and Qatar of fuelling fighting, arming terrorists and seeking the collapse of a recent ceasefire in the Arab country. “These regimes are working to escalate terrorist actions, support terrorists and destroy the cessation of hostilities agreement agreed by Russia and the United States,” he said. The truce, which went into effect on February 27 across Syria, initially reduced violence there, but fighting has picked up again in recent weeks, leaving the ceasefire in tatters. The remarks came three days after the so-called opposition group High Negotiations Committee (HNC) left the latest round of the Syria peace talks, which began in the Swiss city of Geneva on April 13, to protest at what they called the Damascus government’s truce violations. Commenting on the HNC’s withdrawal from the Geneva negotiations, Halqi said the discussions are underway despite the decision of “Riyadh opposition” delegation to suspend its participation in the talks. Elsewhere in his comments, the Syrian premier also noted that thousands of terrorists have crossed from Turkey into Aleppo Province and its countryside over the past week.

Click here for the full story From PressTV Israel vows to keep up incursions into Palestinian lands Palestinian boys stand atop the rubble of a house after it was demolished by Israeli bulldozers in the West Bank village of al-Walaja near Bethlehem, April 12, 2016. ©Reuters Israeli officials have announced a decision to press ahead with their incursions into the West Bank areas under the Palestinian Authority’s watch amid heightened tensions there. The decision was made during a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Minister of Military Affairs Moshe Ya’alon and military chief of staff Gadi Eizenkot on Wednesday. In a statement released following the meeting, the premier’s office said the attendees made it clear that the Israeli military “maintains — and will maintain — the possibility of entering Area A, and anywhere necessary, according to operational needs.” Area A refers to approximately 18 percent of the West Bank, which is officially under full Palestinian civil and security jurisdiction. However, Israeli forces have regularly stormed this region in violation of Palestinian sovereignty. The development comes despite reported talks earlier this month between Palestinian and Israeli authorities over putting an end to near-daily Israeli raids in Area A. Israeli troops routinely ransack and destroy the homes belonging to Palestinians who the Tel Aviv regime accuses of committing deadly anti-Israeli attacks in the occupied territories.

Click here for the full story From Russia Today Kurds take over prison, capture 50 pro-Syrian govt fighters in Qamishli – reports Published time: 21 Apr, 2016 20:10 Fighters of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) walk with their weapons in the city of Qamishli, Syria April 21, 2016 © Rodi Said / Reuters At least 50 pro-Syrian government fighters have been taken captive by Kurdish forces in the Syrian town of Qamishli in the mostly Kurdish-controlled Hasaka province after fierce fighting entered a second day, various media report. Fighting between the two factions in the northeastern Syrian town sharply intensified on Thursday, after Kurdish police, known as Asayish, seized Allya prison where pro-government forces had been holed up. Kurdish Firat news agency reports 67 soldiers surrendered, while AFP puts the figure at 50. The soldiers from the Syrian army handed themselves over to the Kurds, who then surrounded the military intelligence headquarters and some other office buildings held by pro-government forces.

Click here for the full story From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency Israel closing off West Bank in wake of Jerusalem bus bombing (JTA) — Israel is closing off the West Bank for the start of Passover amid fears of further terrorist attacks after a bus bombing in Jerusalem that wounded 20. The closure will begin Thursday night and last through Saturday night.

Click here for the full story From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency Arab-Israeli lawmaker compares Israel to Nazi Germany JERUSALEM (JTA) — Arab-Israeli lawmaker Hanin Zoabi declined an invitation to participate in a Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony, saying that there is an “alarming similarity” between Nazi Germany and current Israeli policies. Zoabi was invited to take part in the annual national ceremony for Holocaust Remembrance Day, or Yom Hashoah, which will be held next month at Kibbutz Yad Mordechai in southern Israel. “You can’t teach the lessons of the Holocaust when you don’t distinguish between the alarming similarity in what is happening today all around us and what happened in Germany in the 1930s,” wrote Zoabi in a letter to organizers of the ceremony, that was leaked to the Israeli media. “And that is where the danger lies: summary executions, detentions without trial, torture, gag orders, persecuting protesters and political activists.”

Click here for the full story From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency Supreme Court upholds law facilitating access to Iran assets by victims of terrorist attacks WASHINGTON (JTA) — The Supreme Court ruled in favor of victims of terrorism seeking access to frozen Iranian assets. The 6-2 decision on Wednesday upholds a law passed in 2012 that removed legal obstructions to victims of attacks believed to be carried out with Iran’s backing, and their families, to claiming almost $2 billion in Iranian assets frozen in the United States. Bank Markazi, Iran’s central bank, had appealed lower courts’ upholding of the statute, saying it violated separations of power because Congress was effectively litigating a case while it was under review by the courts. The case combines a number of lawsuits against Iran filed in years prior to the 2012 law. Among the plaintiffs is the Rubin family whose family member was injured in a 1997 double suicide bombing on Ben Yehuda Street in Jerusalem. The family is represented by the Israeli NGO Shurat Hadin.

Click here for the full story From PressTV Saudi regime carries out 86th beheading in 2016 Still from a video, taken secretly by a security guard, of the beheading of a Myanmar Muslim woman in Saudi Arabia in January 2015 Saudi Arabia has decapitated a Pakistani national after sentencing him to death for smuggling drugs, bringing to 86 the number of such executions in the kingdom since the start of this year. The convicted Pakistani man, identified as Shah Zaman Khan Sayyed, was beheaded in the Riyadh region, the Saudi Interior Ministry said in a statement on Thursday. The man was found guilty of attempting to smuggle heroin and amphetamines into the kingdom, the interior ministry added. Beheading with a sword is the most common form of execution in Saudi Arabia. Saudi officials execute convicts by sword and then dangle their corpses from a helicopter for the public to see. The latest beheading occurred as US President Barack Obama is on a two-day visit to the oppressive kingdom. Before Obama left for Riyadh to meet with King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Britain-based international right group Amnesty International wrote a letter, urging him to consider the country’s human rights issues.

Click here for the full story From Russia Today Russian military removes all mines & bombs in historic Palmyra Published time: 21 Apr, 2016 15:08 © Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation Russian engineers have successfully completed clearing the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra of explosives left behind by Islamic State. Nearly 3,000 explosive devices on around 230 hectares (2.3 sq km) of the World Heritage site have been defused. “The task of clearing the architectural and historical part of Palmyra of explosives has been fully completed,” the head of the Russian Army’s engineering unit, Yury Stavitsky, reported from Syria to President Vladimir Putin on Thursday. Starting from April 2, Russian engineers with the help of Uran-6 robots and specially trained dogs have cleared 234 hectares of land, 23 kilometers (14 miles) of roads and 10 architectural objects, Stavitsky said, speaking to Russia’s Commander-in-Chief via a TV link-up. In total, 2991 explosive devices, including 432 makeshift bombs, have been defused, the military official reported. Ninety-eight Russian servicemen have been involved in the effort, he added.

Click here for the full story From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency Buenos Aires to host meeting of global anti-Semitism forum (JTA) — The Global Forum for Combatting Antisemitism, meeting for the first time in Latin America, will also have its first non-Jewish group as co-organizer. The meeting, gathering more than 100 international experts in Buenos Aires July 17 -18, will be organized by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Hispanic Israel Leadership Coalition, a Christian organization; and the World Jewish Congress through its regional chapter, the Latin American Jewish Congress, or LAJC. “Anti-Semitism has its own dynamic in the region, so the issue is very important for us. The well-being of the Jewish communities in the Diaspora is a core issue for my government,” Israeli ambassador to Buenos Aires, Dorit Shavit, told JTA. The meeting will include workshops about anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment in the region.

Click here for the full story From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency Israel’s attorney general bars women from reciting priestly blessing at Kotel (JTA) — Israel’s attorney general banned Women of the Wall from holding a priestly blessing ceremony at the Western Wall. The group, which advocates for women’s right to perform rituals that the Western Wall’s Orthodox authorities maintain are reserved for men, had planned to hold a ceremony featuring the traditional prayer Sunday, April 24. On Thursday, however, Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit ruled that holding a female version of the priestly blessing ceremony violated a law enforcing “local customs” at religious sites in Israel, according to reports.

Click here for the full story From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency Feds affirm halt in funding to Jewish college accused of fraud (JTA) — The U.S. Department of Education upheld its decision to withhold federal student financial aid from a Jewish college in suburban Detroit. The Education Department last month cut off the federal funding to the Michigan Jewish Institute, after the four-year college in West Bloomfield illegally obtained the Pell Grants and loans for students in its study abroad program. The students, who studied in Israel at yeshivas and seminaries, had no intention of getting a degree, according to the department. The institute, which has about 2,000 students, received millions of dollars in Title IV funds under the federal Pell Grant Program between 2006 and 2012. “For an institution to be eligible to receive Title IV funds, it must award those funds only to eligible students. And for a student to be eligible to receive federal student financial assistance, he or she must intend to receive a degree from the institution where he or she has enrolled,” read a letter sent to the college on April 15 and obtained by the Detroit Free Press. “Title IV funds are not available for the benefit of institutions; they are available for the benefit of students attending those institutions. Here, MJI created a scheme with little or no regard for the integrity of the Title IV programs, and the department, as steward of these funds, must end MJI’s Title IV eligibility.”

Click here for the full story From Russia Today Swedish social workers lack strategy to deal with radicalized youths – govt survey Published time: 21 Apr, 2016 15:25 © Ali Jasim / Reuters Social workers in Sweden have been revealed to lack a solid strategy to deal with the radicalization of young people in the country, according to a government survey. Researchers from the government surveyed social workers in 220 municipalities and cities across Sweden. Of those, they identified 39 locations where staff said they had been working with young people at risk of or already turning to extremism. In 25 locations, children under the age of 18 were included in that group. However, staff working in 31 of the 39 affected areas said they did not have a strategy for providing support to teens who want to distance themselves from radical friends or gangs.

Click here for the full story From Russia Today Thüg life: German right-wing demonstrators clash with anti-fascists on Hitler’s birthday Published time: 21 Apr, 2016 06:31 © / Ruptly Hundreds of supporters of a Pegida-allied anti-immigrant group were confronted by 3,000 counter-demonstrators, who aimed to disrupt a torchlit rally on Hitler’s birthday. Anti-fascists threw stones and fireworks at activists as police tried to intervene. In response to the far-right demonstration, anti-racist activists staged counter-rallies. The situation took a violent turn as protesters began hurling stones, bottles and throwing fireworks at the Thügida activists. Several vehicles were damaged, including three police vans. Police, who were dispatched to the streets in large numbers to deter the violence, got involved in skirmishes between the rivaling sides. The officers deployed pepper spray and water cannons and had to eventually storm the protest. Five policemen were reported injured in the scuffles, DPA reported, and at least 25 far-right activists were detained.

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