Foreign Digest: "The Filipino Trump," Venezuelan Presidential Recall Update, Russian Complicity in Ukraine's Civil War, Syrian Genocide

The “Filipino Trump” compares himself to Hitler

            The anti-American President of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, “the Filipino Trump,” who says he emulates American presidential candidate Donald J. Trump, compared his policy of encouraging private citizens to murder suspected drug dealers favorably with Adolph Hitler’s Holocaust.  Thousands have been killed.  

Duterte, known for a similar policy when he was mayor of a large Filipino city, has made a deal with communist terrorists to bring them into government, and threatens to expel American military advisors  assisting the Philippines in the War on Terrorism against Islamist terrorists, while turning toward Communist China’s orbit.  As mayor, the uncouth Duterte had insulted Pope Francis and the Church and expressed his desire to rape women.   

Update on the Venezuelan presidential recall referendum

            As the democratic opposition feared, the Socialist dictatorship has effectively blocked the referendum on recalling the President, as the delay will leave less than two years remaining on his term, which means the recall cannot be effectuated.  The referendum had gathered the necessary signatures, but the electoral commission controlled by the government held up its approval in order to miss the deadline.       

A Russian missile was used to shoot down a civilian airliner over Ukraine

            A study conducted by the Dutch government has concluded that the Malaysian civilian airline that was shot down over Ukraine last year was downed by a missile supplied from the Russian Federation to the pro-Russian separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine, which refutes the denials by the Russians and the rebels of responsibility. Indeed, the Russian dictatorship has denied any complicity in Ukraine's civil war, despite all the evidence to the contrary.  The jet had taken off from the Netherlands.  All aboard were killed.

            The Russian Federation invaded Ukraine’s Crimea in 2014 and annexed it, in violation of a treaty it had signed with Ukraine to respect the latter’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.  Russian forces have also infiltrated into eastern Ukraine in support of the separatists.  The war has claimed 10,000 lives.

Syrian genocide

            With the Baathist Syrian regime of Dictator Bashar Assad’s latest indiscriminate attacks on civilians in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, it is increasingly clear the regime’s policy is genocide.  Bashar Assad’s strategy is the same as his father, Hafez Assad, who indiscriminately shelled major cities that had risen up against his tyranny, slaughtering tens of thousands of innocent civlians.  The Assad genocide is backed militarily by Iran and Russia, as well as by the Lebanese Shi’ite terrorists, Hezbollah, who are sponsored by both Iran and Syria and are being trained by Russia.  Hezbollah has killed more Americans than any other terrorist organization, except al-Qaeda.

In addition to killing civilians, instead of focusing strictly on killing other Islamist terrorists, such as al-Qaeda and the “Islamic State,” Russia is helping the Syrian dictatorship by killing American-backed non-Islamist rebels.  Over a quarter million people have been killed in the Syrian Civil War.  The war has created the largest refugee crisis since the Second World War.