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Hannity: Media missed the political earthquake shaking DC
Dem. lawmaker’s meeting with Assad raises bipartisan ire
Who organized that meeting with Assad, I wonder?
This lady has a powerful sponser, I bet.
NYC Muslims lead mass prayer at DHS offices after Trump’s immigration ban
Charge them with disorderly conduct. Lock them up.
Immigrants with Affected Family Fearful of Ban
Associated Press -U.S. News
Refugees wish more focus on Syria, less on closing US doors
Ahmad Alabood, whose family was the first to be resettled in America as part of the “surge” refugee program, wishes President Donald Trump would help topple Syria’s regime rather than press to close off U.S. borders to those fleeing a torn homeland.
“The Syrian people deserve better than this,” Alabood, 48, who along with his wife and five children arrived last spring in Kansas City, Missouri, told The Associated Press through a translator Friday.
The sentiment was shared some 550 miles away by Motaz Alafandi, a 49-year-old Syrian living in Dallas while seeking asylum with his wife and three youngest kids, ages 14, 11 and 5.
“I wish that Mr. President (Trump) can help in stopping the war in Syria,” said Alafandi, who said he loves the U.S. and the American people but does hope to return one day to his homeland. “If my country will become good again, I won’t stay here.”
Such laments about Syria — reeling from a civil war that has spawned hundreds of thousands of refugees — come as Trump on Friday signed an executive order imposing “new vetting measures” that he says are aimed at keeping “radical Islamic terrorists” out of the United States, saying “we don’t want them here.” Trump said he only wants to admit people to the U.S. who will support the country.
Among the order’s directives are that the U.S. stop issuing visas to Syrian nationals and halt the processing of Syrian refugees until security changes are made, and suspend all immigration from countries with terrorism concerns for 90 days. It was unclear which countries would be affected, though a draft of the order obtained by The Associated Press pointed to a legal provision identifying Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, all majority-Muslim countries.
The city of Rutland, Vermont , had planned to welcome 100 refugees from Syria and Iraq, but with Trump’s Friday order the community expects to see only the two Syrian families that arrived this month.
Ahmed Khatib, 37, said he, his wife Mahasen Boshnaq, and their three young children arrived there Jan. 19, and in a Friday interview he said they feel lucky. Day by day they are settling in and Khatib has started talking with people about getting work. After studying agricultural technology in college he hopes to finish his degree in the U.S. Khatib said he looks forward to being self-sufficient, working, having a home for his family and school and clothing for his children.
He doesn’t think Trump’s opinion reflects Americans, who he said want to allow refugees in the country.
“They are very nice and they are very helpful and welcoming,” Khatib said. “I care about what the America people want and I feel that they want refugees.”
Alabood said restricting the flow of refugees into the U.S. — out of concern that waves of refugees haven’t been or can’t be properly vetted by the U.S. to weed out the terrorism-minded — could deepen American suspicion and fan anti-Muslim hostility. Critics of the proposed moves have labeled them reckless and un-American.
“There are certain (American) people that would take it to an extreme” and lash out, said Alabood, a former construction worker in his homeland. “There are lots of people in desperate need of help, and this is a great country to help them,” he added.
Afghans and Iraqis who have worked as interpreters for the U.S. military fear the executive action that will bring sweeping changes to the nation’s refugee policies will mean their families will be stuck in their homelands, where they may be targeted for violence because they have worked for the Americans. Recently arrived interpreters accompanied by military veterans and elected officials gave a news conference in San Diego on Friday, asking President Trump to not close the doors to refugees.
Abdul Manan, 31, an Afghan interpreter who worked for the Army and special forces for eight years, arrived in San Diego two months ago. He fears for his family after fleeing his homeland amid death threats. It took him three years to get out on a special immigrant visa but his relatives remain in his village and have been threatened.
Manan suggested Trump talk to the military and veterans who will attest to the risk interpreters took to help troops.
“They have sacrificed their lives and their family’s lives and now they are left behind. I think of the history of America. Is that how they do? If someone helps them and they’re left behind, they’re at the mercy of the terrorists — ISIS.”
Since settling in Missouri nine months ago, Alabood has chased the American dream, albeit in baby steps. He’s earning $10.25 an hour making plastic car parts, trying to learn English and has a four-bedroom rental home to go along with his donated 2000 minivan. His $725 monthly rent tab leaves him unable to afford health insurance.
Yet he gushes of the graciousness of Kansas City, saying he’s not been subjected to anti-Muslim sentiment in the Midwest. His brother has joined him, arriving in Kansas City five months ago with his three kids, ages 8, 6 and 4.
In Dallas, Alafandi enjoys a temporary protected status, which has allowed him to get a work permit and driver’s license. Alafandi, who came with his family to the U.S. in 2014 and awaits word on his asylum application, has a tow truck business.
“Sometimes we feel that everybody is against us,” fostering a feeling of being unwelcomed, he said. “Our people are killed in Syria, and when they try to find a way to survive, people are kicking them out and dealing with them badly.”
“I wish that we will be treated as a human beings that are seeking shelter and are seeking to be secure with our families,” he added. “We are just asking to be safe and find jobs and feed our kids.”
https://apnews.com/d38871c13f864d90957976a02c358c09/Refugees-wish-more-focus-on-Syria,-less-on-closing-US-doors
“Ahmad Alabood, whose family was the first to be resettled in America as part of the “surge” refugee program, wishes President Donald Trump would help topple Syria’s regime rather than press to close off U.S. borders to those fleeing a torn homeland.”
This
totallyintentionally ignores the fact that Syria is not the central problem. Nor is it the major source of global terrorism. ALL ISLAMIC COUNTRIES ARE THE PROBLEM and will continue to be the problem until a sufficiently existential threat is posed to where Muslims finally decide to liquidate their jihadist factions out of sheer self-preservation.Global terrorism will continue unabated until the West finally decides that living with Muslims is more trouble than living without Muslims. For Islam to survive, it will have to internally transform itself into something that will not continually antagonize all other non-Muslim populations. This process cannot be driven externally as only Muslims can make the decision to coexist peacefully with the outside world. All that non-Muslim countries are obliged to do is use whatever economical and effective means are available to them to PERMANENTLY end the threat of jihadist terrorism.
The West is under no moral or ethical obligation to humanely deal with the threat of (eventual) jihadist terrorist attacks using weapons of mass destruction. This inevitability is what lends urgency to creating the aforementioned existential threat to Islam and impose it at the earliest opportunity. Merely waiting for the oil to run out is not an option.
Anything less than a complete and voluntary (or involuntary, as in who gives a rip about niceties or motivation?) liquidation of Islam’s jihadist faction will spell Islam’s annihilation. This is the sole message that all Muslim nations deserve to receive from the West. All other “negotiations” (futile at best and a waste of precious time at worst), “treaties” (which are utterly meaningless due to hudna), and conventional means of pacification are entirely useless as they do not adequately address the root cause of jihadism, namely ISLAMIC DOCTRINE.
zero hedge – Google Tells Offshore Staff To Return To The US After Trump Executive Order
[…]”We’re concerned about the impact of this order and any proposals that could impose restrictions on Googlers and their families, or that create barriers to bringing great talent to the U.S.,” a Google spokeswoman said in a statement.
[…]Other technology companies are likely in a similar situation, she added. In addition to Facebook, Microsoft inserted language in a securities filing on Thursday on the issue, cautioning investors that immigration restrictions “may inhibit our ability to adequately staff our research and development efforts.”
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-01-28/google-recalls-offshore-staff-us-after-trump-executive-order
NYT – Tech Industry Frets Over Possible Immigration Changes
SEATTLE — American technology companies for years have relied on a steady stream of skilled engineers from overseas to help them create their products.
Now many of those companies and their workers are girding for expected changes to immigration policy under President Trump that the companies say could hurt their ability to tap the technical talent they need to stay competitive.
Mr. Trump, who has signed a series of executive orders related to immigration, is expected to soon take similar action on visa programs for foreign workers.
A draft of a proposed executive order on the matter was leaked this week. While it is not clear how the final order will look and the draft contains some changes many in the technology industry support, some language alarmed people in Silicon Valley.
[…]On Friday, Mr. Trump signed a separate executive order that imposes a temporary ban on visas to people from seven predominantly Muslim countries.
The Computing Research Association, a nonprofit organization that represents computing professionals in academia, government laboratories and other areas, said in a statement that the order “creates uncertainty and potential hardship among current students and researchers already here making important contributions and endangers our leadership role in a key field.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/27/business/technology-h-1b-visa-immigration.html
Great opportunity to train US workers who’ved been displaced from manufacturing jobs.
“Great opportunity to train US workers who’ve been displaced from manufacturing jobs.”
Good luck with that, as this in no way halts the flood of economic tourists pouring into America from India and China. H1B visas are merely a way for tech titans to avoid having to pay an already trained and existing
largely Whitepool of skilled workers the wages and benefits they had earned and deserved.By importing so much “immigrant” labor, this miserly and fatally greedy
bunch of Harvard MBAscorporate brain-trust has knowingly allowed America to hemorrhage its technological prowess overseas while this nation serves as the high tech finishing school and training academy for the outside world.Americans deserve a portion of the blame as they continue to
shop at Walmartdisplay suicidal cost sensitivity even as it drives the offshoring of their own middle class jobs and pushes them further down the ladder of a rapidly expandingand toxically underpaidservice economy.Nonetheless, this nation’s political and economic
elite1% continue to be predatory parasites and, in their lust for wealth, exhibit no compunction about impoverishing the same American people who originally built this entire system of enterprise.It is betrayal on a monumental scale hitherto unseen in a supposedly free country.
At the very least, this is why President Trump’s order barring administration officials from becoming lobbyists until five years after their departure from government (and permanently banning them from lobbying for foreign interests) represents such a dramatic sea change in American politics. The previous status quo is precisely what led to this poisonous collusion between corporate and government entities. It must be stopped at all costs.
France: Far-right group ‘Generation Identity’ opens boxing gym in Lyon
MEMRI TV – Iranian Nuclear Chief Salehi: There Will Be No Changes to the Nuclear Deal!
Swedish police make URGENT PLEA for citizens to help solve crimes amid ‘spike in violence’ (express, Jan 28, 2017)
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/759946/Swedish-violence-crime-police-urgent-plea-malm-Rosengard
“SWEDISH police have made an urgent plea for citizens to assist them in solving serious crimes amid a spike in violence.
Officers in the city of Malmö have struggled to cope with a surge of serious crimes including dozens of attempted murders, beatings, rapes and other offences – and have now been forced to admit: “We cannot do it on our own”.
Malmö police chief Stefan Sinteus called for locals to come forward with testimonies testimonies in a bid to help police catch suspects.
In an open letter, a desperate Mr Sinteus wrote: “I can assure you that the police in Malmö are doing everything we can for suspected perpetrators to be held accountable. But we cannot do it on our own.
“We depend on you, and your witness statements, to solve these violent crimes.
“Therefore I appeal now to you: Help us.”…”
Muslim Protesters Scream in Protest Over MILO, Are Ejected By Police
http://www.breitbart.com/milo/2017/01/27/muslim-protesters-scream-protest-milo-ejected-police/
WaPo Publishes Study That Said Millions Of Illegal Aliens Vote But Disregards Facts When Trump Proposes Same Truth
‘How many non-citizens participate in U.S. elections? More than 14 percent of non-citizens in both the 2008 and 2010 samples indicated that they were registered to vote. Furthermore, some of these non-citizens voted. Our best guess, based upon extrapolations from the portion of the sample with a verified vote, is that 6.4 percent of non-citizens voted in 2008 and 2.2 percent of non-citizens voted in 2010.
Because non-citizens tended to favor Democrats (Obama won more than 80 percent of the votes of non-citizens in the 2008 CCES sample), we find that this participation was large enough to plausibly account for Democratic victories in a few close elections.’
http://trumpandconquer.com/wapo-publishes-study-that-said-millions-of-illegal-aliens-vote-but-disregards-facts-when-trump-proposes-same-truth/
https://youtu.be/rCldQRaPXwo
Remember Vlad breaking this story 1.5 years ago?
Ok – full disclosure – I did the translation on this one. Still, this is a most awesome video/visuals to pair with the letter/email first published on CNTV, which I had translated and Vlad brought to you back then:
Another little post-modern gem from Greece:
Voter fraud? What voter fraud?!?!?
Here is a compilation from Project Veritas:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCldQRaPXwo&t=0s
More here: https://blog.xanthippas.com/2017/01/27/us-election-fraud-veritas-voter-fraud-compilation-voterfraudisreal/
So AWESOME!!!!
Robert Spencer reddit AMA:
https://www.reddit.com/r/The_Donald/comments/5qkv7r/jihad_watch_director_robert_spencer_at_the_donald/
Tucker Carlson DESTROYS Kevin Appleby Migration Advocate: Extreme Vetting 1/27/17
Totally awesome!!!!!
Pearl Harbor Navy Salvage Diver Dies at 103
None of us can adequately thank this courageous man for performing—what can only be described as—one of the most thankless tasks of all WWII.
The final solace that he gave to so many stricken and heartbroken American families—at serious risk to his own life and limb—can only be described as, “heroic”.
All true Americans have an eternal debt to this selfless individual.
Would someone please consider starting a national petition asking Trump to award Ken Hartle a Medal of Honor?
Can’t cuck the Tuck!
Tucker Carlson vs Jonathan Gruber: Obamacare 1/25/17:
Shocking rate of electoral fraud reported in east London borough Tower Hamlets (express, Jan 28, 2017)
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/759982/Shocking-rate-of-electoral-fraud-reported-in-east-London-borough-Tower-Hamlets
“NEARLY half of all voter fraud reported in London in the past five years took place in Tower Hamlets, it has been revealed.
The stark figures from the City Hall’s police and crime committee, showed that out of the 455 allegations of electoral fraud that were reported to Scotland Yard, 224 came from the borough.
A spokesperson for the Crown Prosecution Service said that it could not confirm how many of the reports had led to prosecutions or charges.
However, Peter Golds, a Conservative councillor for Tower Hamlets, slammed the lack of prosecutions saying that police had clearly “ignored evidence of fraud”.
He also accused police of “malpractice” and doing “a tick-box exercise without taking any action”.
Tower Hamlets is an extremely ethnically diverse borough.
In 2011, 32 per cent of the population were Bangladeshi, 31 per cent white British, 12 per cent other white, four per cent black African and two per cent black Caribbean.
It has been alleged that voter fraud was rife during the 2014 election of Tower Hamlets mayor, Lutfur Rahman.
There were at least 164 reports related to the election of the borough’s Muslim mayor, the figures revealed.
The east London mayor also faced widespread accusations from voters that he’d used “corrupt and illegal practices” in the election.
Mr Rahman, a Labour MP, was removed from office in 2015 after he was found guilty of voter fraud.
Election commissioner Richard Mawrey said his election was void because of the “alarming state of affairs” in Tower Hamlets.
And he had “driven a coach and horses” through local authority law to win elections.
Mr Rahman denied any wrong-doing but was banned from standing again. He was also slapped with a fine of £250,000.
Meanwhile, figures on voter fraud also showed that at least 55 complaints related to the vote on Brexit and 17 on the election of the London mayor.
A further 111 allegations were received over the general election, 48 related to Tower Hamlets mayoral-by-election, The Evening Standard reports.
Scotland Yard passed at least 13 files on to the Crown Prosecution Service in relation to last year’s EU referendum and London mayor election.
However, since 2014, just three people have been convicted, two received cautions, and one a court conviction.
A further 23 people were interviewed under caution, eight got “warning letters,” and 25 were given “words of advice”.
It means just one percent of the complaints led to convictions.”
Senegal Nabs Gambia Official Accused of Overseeing Torture (abcnews, Jan 28, 2017)
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/senegal-nabs-gambia-official-accused-overseeing-torture-45108429
“Police in Senegal say the Gambia official accused of overseeing the torture of prisoners under former leader Yahya Jammeh has been arrested.
A police statement says Borra Colley was arrested Wednesday while trying to make his way to Guinea Bissau.
Colley had been director of the notorious Mile Two prison. He also led the Jungulars, Jammeh’s personal military of some 50 officers who reportedly went into exile with him last weekend in Equatorial Guinea.
Some former Gambian officials fled the country during the political crisis that ended this week with the arrival of new President Adama Barrow.”
Merkel Says No Solution yet to Sharing Migrant Burden in EU (abcnews, Jan 28, 2017)
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/merkel-solution-sharing-migrant-burden-eu-45108448
“German Chancellor Angela Merkel says there’s no solution yet to the problem of how to fairly share the burden of migration among European Union member states.
The issue has vexed the 28-nation bloc for years but gained prominence after the sudden influx of hundreds of thousands of migrants from outside Europe in 2015.
Germany took in the bulk of those migrants but has insisted that other countries need to contribute too, either by accepting migrants or contributing funds.
Failure to find a solution has given ammunition to Merkel’s domestic critics.
Merkel, who is running for a fourth term in September’s general election, said Saturday she would insist on “a bit of solidarity” from all EU states but “how this will look exactly is something I can’t say at this point.””
First she invited them in, now she is asking for solidarity… Time to vote her out of office.
She could look to the Middle Eastern bloc for solidarity …..
Turkey: May meets Erdogan to talk post-Brexit cooperation
UK Prime Minister Theresa May arrived in Ankara on Saturday, allegedly to discuss a post-Brexit trade deal with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Later the day, May is scheduled to meet her Turkish counterpart Binali Yildirim.
Besides trade, strategic security partnership will be on the agenda of May’s first official visit to Turkey since becoming the prime minister.
Theresa May agrees £100m fighter jet deal with Turkey’s Erdogan despite human rights abuse (independent, Jan 28, 2017)
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/theresa-may-agrees-100m-fighter-jet-deal-with-turkeys-erdogan-despite-human-rights-concerns-a7551006.html
“The UK has signed a £100m deal to design new fighter jets for Turkey, despite the country’s President undertaking a severe crackdown on his regime’s opponents.
Theresa May said it could open the way to billions of pounds worth of business, as she became the first foreign leader to visit Turkey since Recep Tayyip Erdogan ordered a wave of arrests and sackings in the wake of last summer’s coup.
Questioned over human rights concerns, Downing Street officials said the deal to design the TF-X jets was sealed in light of Turkey’s status as a Nato ally and claimed Ms May could approach human rights as a “separate” issue…”
Iran: ‘Today is not the time to build walls between nations’ – Rouhani
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani stated that “today is not the time to build walls between nations” while addressing the 17th World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations (WFTGA) Convention in Tehran, Saturday.
In what is believed to be a reference to US President Donald Trump’s policy to build a wall between the US and Mexican borders, the Iranian President stated “Today is not the time to build walls between nations. Have they forgotten that the Berlin Wall collapsed some years ago?”
SOT, Hassan Rouhani, Iranian President (Farsi): “Today is not the time to build walls between nations. Have they forgotten that the Berlin Wall collapsed some years ago?”
SOT, Hassan Rouhani, Iranian President (Farsi): “Even if there is a wall between nations, it has to be removed; Today’s world is not a world where one can create distances between nations and peoples of different territories. Today is a day of neighborhood. We have become neighbours in cultural, scientific, and civilisational terms and also in the world of communications.”
euronews – Trump pulls up draw bridge to refugees from several nations
1000 refugees plucked from the Mediterranean
27/01/2017 Soccorso gommone Nave Diciotti CP941
Iranians react to Trump’s policy on travelers from Muslim states
Iranian State News Agency: Iran to ‘Retaliate’ Against Order Limiting Immigration From Muslim-Majority Countries (abcnews, Jan 28, 2017)
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/iranian-state-news-agency-iran-retaliate-order-limiting-45112332
“Iranian state news agency: Iran to ‘retaliate’ against order limiting immigration from Muslim-majority countries.”
The New York Times – Bana al-Abed Pens Letter on Syrian Refugees to President Donald Trump
Down And Out In Belgrade, An Afghan Tale
Actor teaches migrant teenagers in Sweden how to chat up local women (RT, Jan 28, 2017)
https://www.rt.com/news/375357-migrants-sweden-girls-flirt/
“A drama teacher and actor has launched classes for “unaccompanied minors” among migrants in the town of Orebro, Sweden, helping them to understand how to flirt with local women, broadcaster SVT has reported.
“In the beginning they were completely useless at picking up women. They just came up and asked for their phone number. Which, of course, doesn’t work. [Now] they’ve become much better,” actor and drama teacher Mohammad Arvan, 32, explained to SVT.
It was actually the teenagers themselves who gave Arvan the idea, he told P4 radio in Orebro, after the young migrants asked him: “How do you meet Swedish girls?”
So, what do these chat-up master classes look like?…”
5 Iraqis, 1 Yemeni barred from flight to New York (memo, Jan 28, 2017)
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20170128-5-iraqis-1-yemeni-barred-from-flight-to-new-york/
“Five Iraqi passengers and one Yemeni were barred from boarding an EgyptAir flight from Cairo to New York today following President Donald Trump’s ban on the entry of citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries, sources at Cairo airport said…”
UAE says it destroyed Iranian-built drone in Yemen – state news agency (reuters, Jan 28, 2017)
http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFKBN15C0JE?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FAFRICAWorldNews+%28News+%2F+AFRICA+%2F+World+News%29&&rpc=401
” The air force of the United Arab Emirates shot down an Iranian-made drone in Yemen, state news agency WAM reported on Saturday, quoting a Yemeni military officer…”
UN: Houthis undermining Yemen peace efforts (memo, Jan 28, 2017)
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20170128-un-houthis-undermining-yemen-peace-efforts/
“During his briefing to the UN Security Council on Thursday, the UN Envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Sheikh Ahmed accused the Shia Houthi rebels of undermining the roadmap to peace in Yemen, Alkhaleej Online reported…”
Police anti-terror raids against suspected IS militants in Turkey (alaraby, Jan 28, 2017)
https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2017/1/28/police-anti-terror-raids-against-suspected-is-militants-in-turkey
“Turkish police have arrested 17 suspected members of the Islamic State group during a major anti-terror operation in Istanbul and other cities.
Anti-terrorist teams swooped in on seven addresses connected to a suspect – identified only by the initials K.T. – who is accused of housing suspected IS fighters, late Friday night.
Fifteen of the suspects held in the Istanbul district of Zeytinburnu were foreign nationals who would be deported, police said.
The Istanbul raids come as a number of suspected militants were either arrested or remanded to stand trial on anti-terror charges elsewhere in Turkey…”
CBC – Canada to increase reproductive health funding despite Trump executive order
Canada will increase its funding to international organizations that provide abortion-related services after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order blocking American funding for those services.
In an interview with As It Happens guest host Helen Mann on Friday, Minister of International Development Marie-Claude Bibeau said the Liberal government would support a Dutch-led initiative to fund international programs supporting women’s reproductive health.
“I think that restricting the access to abortion does not reduce abortion. It only increases the number of unsafe abortions and it endangers the lives of women,” Bibeau said.
Dutch International Development Minister Lilianne Ploumen said earlier this week that as many as 20 countries had indicated their support for the effort to replace the $600 million U.S. in funding that will be lost because of Trump’s decision.
“Yes, we will support the [Dutch] effort,” Bibeau said. “Will it be directly through the fund or indirectly, this is not clear yet. But, I assured my colleague, the Minister from the Netherlands, that we will increase our funding to sexual and reproductive health and rights. This is definitely a very important priority for our government.”
Bibeau declined to say by how much the funding would increase.
Ploumen asked Bibeau for Canada’s support during a phone call on Wednesday, which Bibeau described as productive.
“It was an easy pitch because we both agree on the importance of women empowerment, and that sexual and reproductive health and rights is so important,” Bibeau said.
Bibeau’s announcement in support for the Dutch effort marks a split with the Trump administration, and comes on the same day that American pro-life activists gathered in Washington for the annual March for Life. In a tweet sent Friday morning, Trump said the march had his “full support.”
Vice-President Mike Pence spoke at the rally, where he declared that “life is winning again in America.”
Asked if she was worried about angering the American government with her vocal opposition to their policy, Bibeau said she was not.
“Women’s rights is too important for us to make a compromise on that,” she said.
Bibeau is already looking ahead to meeting with her American counterpart.
“I believe we will be working together on some subjects and we will be less complimentary on others. On this one, we definitely don’t agree,” she said.
In signing the executive order on Monday, Trump re-instated a rule known as the Mexico City Policy, originally established by Republican President Ronald Reagan in the 1984. The policy has been repealed and reinstated several times since then by alternating Republican and Democratic governments.
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-friday-edition-1.3955517/canada-to-increase-reproductive-health-funding-despite-trump-executive-order-1.3955523
VANCOUVER – B.C.’s Syrian refugees face income squeeze with switch to welfare
For Bassam Sua’Ifan and Yousra Al Qablawi, money was already tight. Rent, utilities, car insurance and the cost of feeding and caring for seven children account for the family’s entire budget.
Now the Syrian refugee family must make some hard budget choices as their income been reduced by close to $500 a month, Bassam says, with the transition from federal support to B.C. welfare. Hundreds of Syrian families who arrived in B.C. between December 2015 and March 2016 are experiencing the same thing.
Government-assisted refugees are supported by Ottawa for their first 12 months in Canada. Although federal refugee support rates are tied to provincial welfare, there are a couple of differences that translate into as much as $350 a month less for families with two or more members, says Chris Friesen, settlement services director for the Immigration Services Society of B.C.
One difference is a transportation allowance included in federal, but not provincial support. The transportation allowance is intended to help refugees get to English-language classes and employment services to help them find work, as well as medical appointments, Friesen said.
[…]There are 1,950 government-assisted Syrian refugees, or 490 families, who arrived in Metro Vancouver mostly between December 2015 and March 2016. A survey conducted in November by the Immigrant Services Society of B.C. suggested about 17 per cent had found work. The survey also found they were waiting an average of four months to start English classes.[…]
http://www.timescolonist.com/life/b-c-s-syrian-refugees-face-income-squeeze-with-switch-to-welfare-1.8439800
An interesting article about Finland on the YLE (Finland’s CBC) English website
http://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/police_sex_crimes_on_the_rise/9429490
Some gems:
“Despite the overall crime rate staying stable, there was a significant rise in reported sex crimes [in 2016]. Out of a total of 3 370 sex-related crimes, rape cases increased by 11 percent and suspected sexual assaults doubled.”
Hmmmm…..
“Foreign nationals were suspected of rape in 34.5 percent of cases.”
Now, Finland has a lot of foreign nationals who from other European countries, but somehow I don’t think that it’s Russians, Estonians, and Swedes who are driving up the rape statistics. Also, counting foreign nations would miss the sexual assault committed by Muslims who have somehow gained Finnish citizenship, either by birth or dubious immigration policies.
“Police had identified the assailant in nearly 2 400 of sex-related crimes. In 29 percent of cases the suspected offender was a foreign national, compared to 18.5 percent in 2015. ”
I can’t believe this article went up. Is there a renaissance of realism going on in Finland?
Some quick back of the envelope math for this article, according to the website below:
http://www.stat.fi/tup/suoluk/suoluk_vaesto_en.html
Finland’s population was 5 487 000 in 2015, and only 229 765 foreigners lived there. So a pool of that makes up 4.2% of the people living in Finland provides us with 34.5% of rape suspects and 29% of sex crime suspects. And 42% of foreign nationals living in Finland were either Estonian, Russian, Swedish or Chinese, nationalities which aren’t exactly known for raping women. Unlike say, Somalis or Afghans. And as I said before this also presumably doesn’t count rapes by Muslims with Finnish citizenship.
Also, what could be responsible for that 56% increase(in 2016 vs 2014) in the percentage of sex crimes in which a foreigner was suspected? Well, the same site shows that in 2014 there were 3651 asylum seekers in Finland. In 2015 that number jumped to 32 476, but presumably most of those entered in the latter half of the year and so didn’t spend all of 2015 in Finland. So their effect on sex crime stats wouldn’t be wholly felt until 2016. This news release doesn’t make any reference to the 2014 sex crime numbers. I’d be really curious to see those.
reuters – Trump’s call for deadlier Islamic State push may hit limits
U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order calling for a military plan to defeat Islamic State, expected in the coming week, is likely to see the Pentagon revisiting options for a more aggressive use of firepower and American troops.
But U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, doubt the country’s military will advocate fundamentally changing a key strategy refined during the Obama administration: relying on local forces to do most of the fighting, and dying, in Syria and Iraq.
In a briefing with reporters on Saturday, a senior administration official said Trump would soon sign the executive order asking the joint chiefs of staff to give him a plan in 30 days for defeating Islamic State, fulfilling a campaign trail pledge.
Trump made defeating Islamic State – which has claimed responsibility for several attacks on American soil and is frustrating U.S. military operations across the Middle East – one of the key themes in his campaign. But he avoided talking about specifics of any plan to combat the radical group.
Any shifts by the U.S. military would have broad repercussions for U.S. relationships across the Middle East, which were strained by former President Barack Obama’s effort throughout his administration to limit U.S. military involvement in Iraq and Syria.
Trump’s Defence Secretary James Mattis has advocated a more forceful approach against Islamic State, but how he will pursue that remains unclear.
U.S. military officials have long acknowledged the United States could more quickly defeat Islamic State by using its own forces, instead of local fighters, on the battlefield.
But victory, many U.S. military officials have argued, would come at the expense of more U.S. lives lost and ultimately do little to create a lasting solution to conflicts fuelled by bitter ethnic, religious and political divides in nations with fierce anti-American sentiment.
David Barno, a retired lieutenant general who once led U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said it would be a major escalation if Trump’s administration opted to rely on U.S. troops by putting them into a direct combat role and effectively substitute them for local forces.
“We’ve been down that road, and I don’t think the American people are excited about that idea,” said Barno, who now teaches at American University in Washington, D.C.
Experts said the Pentagon could still request additional forces, beyond the less than 6,000 American troops deployed to both Iraq and Syria today, helping the U.S. military to go further and do more in the fight.
But they also said the Pentagon may focus on smaller-scale options like increasing the number of attack helicopters and air strikes as well as bringing in more artillery. The military may also seek more authority to make battlefield decisions.
Obama’s administration found itself for years battling accusations of micromanaging the wars in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan.
“I do think the Pentagon will argue for, and get a lot more authority, to put advisers and special operators closer into the fight,” Barno said.
RAQQA RAMP-UP
Trump, who pledged in his inaugural address to eradicate Islamic State and like-minded groups “from the face of the earth,” met military chiefs at the Pentagon for about an hour on Friday.
A U.S. defence official, speaking to reporters after the talks, said they discussed ways to accelerate the defeat of Islamic State, among other hot-button issues, including the threat from North Korea, but offered no details.
“The chiefs did most of the talking,” the official said.
In Syria, the big step for the U.S.-backed forces will be finally taking control of the Islamic State’s de facto capital of Raqqa.
In his Senate confirmation hearing, Mattis said he believed the United States already had a strategy that would allow the American military to regain control of Raqqa. But he said that strategy needed to be reviewed and “perhaps energized on a more aggressive timeline.”
One key decision awaiting the Trump administration is whether to directly provide weapons to Kurdish fighters in Syria as they push toward Raqqa, despite fierce objections from NATO ally Turkey.
The United States views the Kurdish fighters as its most reliable ally in Syria but Ankara sees them as an extension of Kurdish militants who have waged a three-decade insurgency on Turkish soil.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which include the Kurdish fighters, launched a multi-stage operation in Raqqa province in November aimed ultimately at capturing the city from Islamic State.
Across the border in Iraq, local forces backed by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes and advisers on the ground have secured a major part of Islamic State’s Iraqi stronghold of Mosul.
Still, U.S. military leaders warn Islamic State will likely morph into a more classic insurgency once it loses Raqqa and Mosul, meaning the fight could stretch on for years.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trump-isis-idUKKBN15C0TN
Trump ordering Joint Chiefs to plan ISIS destruction
President Trump is ordering the Joint Chiefs of Staff to develop a plan within 30 days for how to defeat the Islamic State, and he wants the world to know that obliterating the terrorist army is a top priority for the U.S. said a senior administration official.
Mr. Trump is expected to sign executive action as soon as Saturday for the new strategy against the Islamic State, which is also as ISIS or ISIL.
The president is putting it on paper to send a message, said the official.
“Obviously that executive order will represent a profound statement on the part of the United States that we are committed to ending this atrocity,” said the official.
The Joint Chiefs will have to present options for the destruction of ISIS to Mr. Trump within 30 days. Anticipating the order, military leaders reportedly have already begun to devise new strategies.
The call for a new strategy against ISIS follows an executive order signed Friday to beef up the U.S. military with more aircraft, ships and war-fighting tools, a buildup that is likely to contribute to the new war plan.
Mr. Trump vowed to defeat ISIS during the campaign. He routinely criticized the Obama administration’s tactics against the terror group.
The official stressed that wiping out ISIS was necessary from a national security standpoint and from a global humanitarian standpoint.
“If you think about the root causes of the humanitarian crisis in the middle East today, obviously ISIS was a major if not predominate factor in a lot of that,” said the official. “You see the genocide of Yazidis and Christians and Kurds and many other groups.”
Other executive actions that the president could sign as soon as Saturday included a reorganization of the National Security Council, a five-year lobbying ban on administration officials and a lifetime ban on administration officials lobbying for foreign a foreign country.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jan/28/trump-ordering-joint-chiefs-plan-isis-destruction/
Trump signs three more executive orders
President Trump signed three executive orders on Saturday afternoon in front of cameras in the Oval Office.
The immediate text of the orders wasn’t immediately available, but a senior administration official said one was expected to outline a plan to reorganize the National Security Council.
Trump said another order dealt with a 5-year lobbying ban on administration officials. The senior administration official said it also included a lifetime ban on administration officials lobbying for a foreign country.
The third executive order gives military leaders 30 days to construct and present a report outlining the U.S. strategy for defeating the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the official said.
“I think it’s going to be very successful,” Trump declared to reporters.
“OK, that’s big stuff,” Trump said after signing the three orders. “Have a good weekend.”
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/316701-admin-trump-to-issue-three-more-executive-orders
===============================================
Weekly Address
“Trump said another order dealt with a 5-year lobbying ban on administration officials. The senior administration official said it also included a lifetime ban on administration officials lobbying for a foreign country.”
If Trump keeps going at this pace, he may well go down as one of this century’s greatest Presidents. Just this one order has the potential to change the course of American politics. Also, any future President who attempted to rescind this ban might as well climb into a bathtub for a prolonged soak with a running hair dryer.
Putin and Trump agree to try to rebuild U.S.-Russia ties, cooperate in Syria (reuters, Jan 28, 2017)
http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trump-putin-idUKKBN15C0SQ
“Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to try to rebuild U.S. Russia ties and to cooperate in Syria, the Kremlin said on Saturday, after the two men spoke for the first time since Trump’s inauguration.
U.S.-Russia relations hit a post-Cold War low under the Barack Obama administration and Trump has made clear he wants a rapprochement with Moscow if he can get along with Putin, who says he is also keen to mend ties.
“Both sides demonstrated a mood for active, joint work on stabilising and developing Russian-American cooperation,” the Kremlin said in a statement, adding that Putin and Trump had agreed to work on setting up their first meeting.
“The chat took place in a positive and business-like tone.”….”
BREXIT BOOST: Erdogan promises $20BILLION trade with UK during Theresa May visit (express, Jan 28, 2017)
http://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/759968/theresa-may-erdogan-turkey-brexit-trade-talks
“TURKEY plans to boost its trade with the UK promising $20 billion in trade a year, following meetings with Prime Minister Theresa May in Ankara focused on talks for a post-Brexit deal as details of a £100million defence contract were announced…”
Asylum seekers say they are ’treated like animals’ in homes funded by taxpayer, MPs told (express, Jan 28, 2017)
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/760136/Asylum-seekers-treated-like-animals-homes-taxpayer-Home-Affairs-Select-Committee-inquiry
“EXCLUSIVE: ASYLUM seekers living in taxpayer-funded accommodation have told of being treated “like animals” by housing staff employed by Government contractors.
One asylum seeker said they were threatened with deportation by a housing provider employee when they suggested they may make a complaint about conditions in the property.
Some people seeking refuge in the UK from war-torn countries like Syria and Iraq, also complained that staff working for the contractors often spoke “too quickly” so they could not understand what was being said.
The concerns were raised by NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde Psychological Trauma Service in a report to the Home Affairs Select Committee inquiry into asylum accommodation.
The committee is expected to publish a report on its recommendations over how to improve such accommodation on Tuesday.
The NHS service was considering the impact of poor housing on the mental wellbeing of asylum seekers referred to it…”
In other words the Brits are not paying enough and can expect to pay more…
Migrants at WAR: Tensions in Paris as children attacked with knives for being ‘too rich’ (express, Jan 28, 2017)
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/759995/North-African-youth-gangs-Chinese-migrants-Paris
“GANGS of North African youths have terrified Chinese migrants amid complaints they have become ‘too rich’.
The streets of Paris have erupted into inter-migrant strife as North African youths have targeted ‘rich’ Chinese migrants amid growing tensions.
Police in France recorded more than 200 attacks on Chinese immigrants last year, mostly from hostile migrant gangs.
This comes amid a growing perception that recent migrants from North Africa have become “too demanding” and consider themselves “victims” who deserve pity…”
Huge refugee camp fire was started because ‘migrants were angry over Ramadan food’ (express, Jan 28, 2017)
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/760104/Huge-refugee-camp-fire-was-started-because-migrants-were-angry-over-Ramadan-food
“A FIRE that broke out at a refugee camp was likely caused by arson, an expert revealed in court.
The evidence was heard in Düsseldorf District Court where two North African men faced charges of arson.
It detailed how the fire took hold at a Düsseldorf refugee camp on June 7, 2016 inside a dorm room.
It left 28 people suffering from smoke poisoning when the hall in Dusseldorf – that housed about 300 migrants – burned to the ground…”
‘Islam is a serious threat’ Queen’s Chaplain who quit over Koran in church speaks out (express, Jan 28, 2017)
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/760013/islam-secularism-serious-threats-christianity-former-queen-chaplain
“THE former Queen’s Chaplain who resigned in protest after a passage from the Koran was read in a Scottish cathedral says Christianity is under threat.
The Rev Dr Gavin Ashenden stepped down from his role following after a section from the Koran that teaches Jesus is not the son of God was read during a service to mark Epiphany.
Rev Ashenden said the reading at St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral in Glasgow could be viewed as blasphemy and is indicative of the the rise of Islam in Britain.
Speaking to Express.co.uk, Rev Ashenden said: “My first thoughts were astonishment that any Christian church, let alone a cathedral would consider introducing not only a reading from the Koran instead of the Bible, but one which denied the Bible’s record of who Christ really was.
“I think the clergy at the cathedral should apologise – but particularly to the Christians in the Middle East, who are being killed and whose houses and churches have been pulled down by Islamic activists.
“Comfortable clergy in the West should not take actions that undermine others who are being seriously persecuted for their faith.”…”
At Least 27 People Detained or Sent Home Following Trump’s Executive Order (abcnews, Jan 28, 2017)
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/detained-york-airport-cairo-wake-trumps-executive-order/story?id=45109972
“At least 27 passengers have been detained or sent home from four different airports across the country today, and hundreds of people around the world were barred from boarding U.S.-bound flights following President Trump’s executive order on immigration…”
Man Who Championed Claims of Widespread Voter Fraud Gets Brutally Embarrassed on CNN
CNN anchor confronts man behind voter fraud claim
“IlmFeed is dedicated to publishing informative and inspirational articles about Islam and Muslims.
IlmFeed features articles about Islamic History, Muslim personalities, Mosques around the world, inspirational stories and much more.
At a time where Islamophobia is on the increase fuelled by a negative portrayal of Muslims in some parts of the media, we have made it our mission to challenge that by focussing on featuring positive stories about Muslims.
Launched in March 2014, IlmFeed has quickly become one of the most popular UK-based Islamic websites of its kind and its popularity is continuing to increase worldwide with readers (both Muslims and non-Muslims) from all over the world visiting, reading and sharing articles each day.”
https://www.linkedin.com/company/ilmfeed
“‘Ilm (Arabic: ????? “knowledge”) is the Islamic term for knowledge. However central the idea of ‘ilm to Islamic intellectual culture, it was an essentialist concept, assumed to be a fixed and identifiable (if undefined) object or fact.”
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilm_(Arabic)
Turkish NATO soldiers seek asylum in Germany: report (thelocal, Jan 28, 2017)
https://www.thelocal.de/20170128/turkish-nato-soldiers-seek-asylum-in-germany-report
“Several dozen have sought asylum in Germany, a media report said Saturday, quoting officers who said they fear jail and possibly torture back home.
Around 43,000 people are under arrest in Turkey on charges or links to last year’s failed military coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“About 40 Turkish troops, mostly of high rank and stationed in NATO bases, applied for asylum in Germany,” Der Spiegel magazine and the ARD television station said in a joint report.
One officer, who insisted he had no connection to the coup attempt or sympathy for those behind it, was quoted as saying: “If I return to Turkey I risk imprisonment, or perhaps torture.”
The report quoted Germany’s interior ministry and Office for Migrants and Refugees as saying the soldiers would be treated no differently as other people who apply for asylum.
Turkey has been vital to European Union (EU) plans to stop the mass flow of migrants from the Middle East and Africa into the bloc, especially to Germany.
Relations between Ankara and Berlin deteriorated in the aftermath of the attempt to topple Erdogan but German Chancellor Angela Merkel is planning to visit Turkey on February 2.
The German government has expressed alarm about the crackdown on alleged plotters linked to the coup while Turkey has criticised Berlin for failure to extradite alleged terror suspects.
Turkey blames the coup effort on US based preacher Fethullah Gulen. He denies the charges.
Around three million Turkish people live in Germany.”
Erdoff has a huge apparatus in Germany devoted to spying on Turkish Germans [German Turks?]. Elsewhere in Europe, too.
That bothers me.
Four Egyptian army personnel, 20 militants killed in Sinai military operation (ahram, Jan 28, 2017)
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/257052/Egypt/Politics-/Four-Egyptian-army-personnel,–militants-killed-in.aspx
“Two army officers and two soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb during a security operation in northern and central Sinai that killed 20 militants, Egypt’s army spokesman said Saturday on his Facebook’s official page.
Twenty-four militants were arrested and 28 militant hideouts and 11 vehicles were destroyed in North Sinai during the five-day military operation, meanwhile, in central Sinai, 12 militants were arrested.
The army also destroyed two explosives caches and two workshops for manufacturing explosive devices.
Five explosive devices were defused in central Sinai.
Egypt’s army and police forces have been waging a war over the past three years against an Islamist militant insurgency in North Sinai. Hundreds of security personnel and militants have been killed in the violence.”
Saudi female border guards hone skills in Germany (saudigazette, Jan 29, 2017)
http://saudigazette.com.sa/saudi-arabia/saudi-female-border-guards-hone-skills-germany/
“German police have been training 45 Saudi female border guards as part of a security agreement signed by the interior ministries of both countries.
The Saudi General Directorate of Border Guard said in a statement that the participants are learning new security skills such as personal protection, preliminary investigation, identity verification, arrest and inspection, confiscation of seized items.
The training started last Sunday. The 45 participants are among 60 female inspectors, who have been deployed on Saudi borders after graduating from Naif Arab University for Security Sciences.
The announcement of the training came after interior ministry last week confirmed that terrorists have been exploiting the respect of Saudi society toward women in carrying out their terrorist acts.
According to the latest security operations, a number of terror suspects tried to pass check posts wearing abayas (full body attire worn by women), while others recruited women to coordinate terrorist operations. Some make sure to have female partners so they can rent accommodations easily in residential areas.
The Directorate of Border Guard said it was deploying all efforts and employing skilled human resources to provide the best training to border guards.
In December, German Minister of Defense Ursula von der Leyen conducted a three-day official visit to Saudi Arabia, where she discussed possibilities of further enhancing bilateral relations.”
So you dont miss out on this one:
http://saudigazette.com.sa/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Front_1_2-10.jpg
Muslim centre in Texas gutted by fire (telegraph, Jan 29, 2017)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/29/muslim-centre-texas-gutted-fire/
“A Muslim centre in Victoria, Texas has been gutted by fire within hours of Donald Trump announcing a ban on citizens from seven Islamic countries entering the United States.
The blaze at the mosque was engulfed in flames. But despite previous attacks on the building, community leaders declined to speculate whether the fire was the result of arson.
Nobody was in the building when the fire began during the early hours of Saturday morning.
“It’s a house of worship,” Shahid Hashmi, president of the centre told the Victoria advocate as he watched the fire. Nearly 20 members of the mosque held morning prayers in the street as the emergency services fought the blaze…”
Italy: Thousands hit streets of Rome to protest immigration, demand early elections
Thousands of far-right supporters marched through the centre of Rome, Saturday, protesting against immigration and demanding early elections following the 2016 referendum.
SOT Francesco Di Palma, demonstrator (Italian): “We, the people, we are upset because it’s unfair to have a Government that is not legitimate to represent us. They don’t represent the interests of the people. We came here at our expense because we want Italy to change. We want to vote, now!”
SOT, Matteo Salvini, Northern League party leader, (Italian): “A nation that has no control over its own currency is a slave country. We must go back to having our own national currency, an Italian currency for young Italians and for Italian entrepreneurs, there are no half-ways. Who is in Brussels defending the Euro, Merkel, and the EU of Banks and immigration, they will never be our allies, that’s out of the question.”
Hungarian Government To Train 3,000 ‘Border Hunters’ (breitbart, Jan 28, 2017)
http://www.breitbart.com/london/2017/01/28/hungary-train-3000-border-hunters/
“The Hungarian government is planning to beef up security on its border with Serbia by training a further 3,000 “Border Hunter” personnel to aid existing forces.
Hungarian law states that a mere fifteen asylum seekers are allowed into the central European country per day and the government is looking to boost the number of border agents to maintain tight security. Many migrants still try and enter Hungary illegally and the government hopes that the increased presence will allow authorities to capture and return migrants to Serbia as timely as possible Kurier reports.
Around 3,000 “Border Hunters” are being trained by the government to assist police. The six-month training course is scheduled to be completed in the spring and those trained will search an area within eight kilometres of the border and if they find any illegal migrants will detain them and bring them to the border for deportation.
According to Budapest, the new personnel are needed because the current force of 23,000 officers isn’t enough to fully man the entirety of the border…”