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Police advise: Better go out in pairs
The handbag robberies of the past few days in Neubrandenburg not only cause worries for retirees, but also for the security guards. Nevertheless, the investigators do not believe in a serial offender.
After the recent raids on elderly ladies on the pedestrian bridge between the bird quarter and the station and the brazen attack on the New Cemetery, the Neubrandenburg police advises more caution. If possible, lonely corners and streets should be shunned by women from Neubrandenburg traveling alone, said a spokeswoman for the police on Monday.
“It’s best to be in company,” was the recommendation. Mature ladies, the preferred target group in predatory thefts, should best carry all the important papers on their bodies and, if they rely on a walker, never carry the handbag in their storage.
Instead of resistance, call for help
In addition, the police strongly advise against making a counterattack in the event of a possible attack. “The danger of being injured in a physical conflict is simply too great,” said the police spokeswoman. “Call instead for help”……
https://www.nordkurier.de/neubrandenburg/polizei-raet-besser-zu-zweit-ausgehen-0530594812.html
It would help if they could go armed.
ahram online – On de-radicalisation: A prologue
With the rising number of jihadists among European non-Muslim citizens comes an increasing need for de-radicalisation. But is there one programme that suits all?
A month ago, a friend asked me to write a very short piece on de-radicalisation and the deadline was quite short — less than 10 hours. I started my research, helped by my familiarity with some French debates.
I downloaded working papers and studies, watched videos, read some articles, but the clock was ticking, and I had to stop my inquiry and start writing.
Now I want to return to the topic, not systematically, as I am deprived of the tools necessary for an exhaustive research. Anyhow, the topic would need many books.
Fifteen years ago, a middle ranking French official told me that the French security apparatus was trying to organise discussion sessions with jihadists. Experts were telling them, “Your religion is beautiful and magnificent; the Islamic civilisation was something great, and it can provide you with subtle answers to your problems, so why opt for the poorest interpretation, and anyhow violence is not the solution.”
I was surprised and intrigued. I wondered if the French State realised the difficulty of the task, but I was busy with my own research and did not think about it further.
By the end of the previous decade many French friends — scholars, officials — told me, “Sooner or later a lot of money will be poured into de-radicalisation programmes, and you should start preparing yourself if you want to make some money.” I thought about it and I felt I was not qualified for such an endeavour. My “comparative advantages” lied elsewhere. I might have been wrong, but I do not regret this decision.
France launched de-radicalisation programmes in 2015 but it acted in a hurry, under heavy pressure. Many say the programmes were not well planned, and they now say they are a failure. We shall return to this later.
It seems to me the handling of terrorism went through several phases. President George W Bush used military force and went to war. From the very beginning many underlined the real battle was about winning hearts and countering violent ideologies.
When it appeared the invasion of Iraq was really a folly and a disastrous mistake, the voices that contended military force was not the answer got louder. For instance, Philip Gordon wrote a paper published in the November 2007 issue of Foreign Affairs, trying to define “victory in the war against terror.” He built an analogy with the Cold War; he justified this by saying that the Cold War was a war against an insidious ideology and a war that lasted many decades. Both were strange wars, where victory could not be achieved through military means. Victory would be achieved when jihadist ideology would be discredited, when jihadist tactics would be widely considered a failure, and when militants would start to choose paths that are more promising.
President Obama tried the other way — restoring America’s moral stature, winning the war for ideas and, more controversially, betting on “moderate Islamism.” After 12 years of Bush and Obama, the result is clear: jihadism went global, mobilises hundreds of thousands of militants, causes havoc everywhere, but on the other hand, a great majority of Muslims actively rejects it.
However, most worryingly, an increasing number of European citizens, not all of them of Muslim descent, embrace this ideology. With the terrible rise in the numbers, the “de-radicalisation” paradigm gained a new vigour.
One de-radicalisation programme was and is a “success story”: the Saudi one. Nevertheless, it is quite specific. This programme converts jihadists to quietist Salafists. Its success is quite logical. Twelve years ago, the Egyptian journalist Munir Adib criticised those who were betting on Salafism to counter the Muslim Brotherhood. True, he wrote in Al-Dostor, most Salafists were peaceful. However, they shared with the jihadist the same bleak worldview, with a very negative diagnosis on contemporary societies and modernity.
He added: almost all theologians — Salafists or otherwise — say defensive jihad is legitimate. In addition, it is quite easy to prove many Muslim peoples are under attack, in Palestine or Iraq, for instance. So eventually, you will have at least a minority of quietist Salafists that will opt for violence. This subtle paper fascinated me. Jihadists and peaceful Salafists, who just try to construe a different sub-society, have a lot in common, so it is easy to switch from one position to the other and vice versa.
The snag is obvious: bolstering a quietist Salafist project is not an option for many European countries, especially those with strong identities, like France. Therefore, they must look for other ways of doing things.
Keep in mind de-radicalisation discourse is also a discourse on the self, on each country’s culture. Radicalism is a relative term, as it implies you have to define what is “moderation,” “centrism,” and “mainstream.” This partly explains the moving passions that inflame the debates.
Many criticise the implications of the notion: they say it implies that the problem is psychological, not political. It minimises the real problem: that Islamism is a political challenge that politically rejects the foundations of European civilisation and tries to undermine it. It implies that Islamism is okay, but fanaticism or radicalism are not. Others say something more or less similar: focusing on psychology is a convenient way to ignore society’s ills and problems. Instead of dealing with the causes of anomy, they try to cure its psychological effects. I tend to accept both critiques, but it should be clear that de-radicalisation supporters have many arguments.
One of them is interesting: the problem is not the “clash of ideas.” Extremist ideologies do exist and will not disappear soon, but centrist and reformist interpretations do not need to be invented — they are already here.
Inventing a new discourse, modern, postmodern, revivalist, moderately conservative, etc, will just add a new product in a replete market. The problem is not the lack of alternatives to extremist ideologies. The problem is many find the latter appealing, bringing solutions to their identity problems, curing their psychological suffering, etc.
Many supporters of de-radicalisation say, you do not need to propose other products; you have to change the buyer. Two vastly different groups contest this claim: Muslim Ulemas, and people who do not like the Islamism project.
To be continued.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContentP/4/282596/Opinion/-On-deradicalisation-A-prologue.aspx
Survey: Millennials Feel Calling Them ‘Snowflakes’ is Damaging to Mental Health
A new survey reveals that young people believe being called a “snowflake” could be damaging to their mental health.
A new survey by insurance firm Aviva found that 72 percent of 16 to 24-year-olds believe the term “snowflake” is unfairly applied to millennials. 74 percent of respondents took it a step farther, arguing that they believe the use of the label could have a negative effect on young people’s mental health.
The study was born out of interest in the term “snowflake generation” which was originally used to describe young people who thought they were unique or special. Some suggest it was popularized by a line in the 1996 novel Fight Club and its 1999 film adaptation: “you are not special, you are not a beautiful and unique snowflake.” The word’s meaning eventually evolved to mean “overly-sensitive.” It is often used to describe college students who claim that they are offended by controversial or even mundane ideas.
Chuck Palahniuk, the author of Fight Club, has embraced the rise in popularity of the term. “There is a kind of new Victorianism,” he said. “Every generation gets offended by different things but my friends who teach in high school tell me that their students are very easily offended.”
http://www.breitbart.com/tech/2017/12/06/young-people-say-calling-them-snowflakes-damages-their-mental-health/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social
Finland: Far-right, anti-fascists face off during Independence Day marches
Another One! Mueller Deputy Was Personal Attorney of Ben Rhodes, Represented Clinton Foundation
On Fox News Tuesday night, Laura Ingraham reported that yet another one of Robert Mueller’s deputies in his Russia investigation is compromised due to her track record as a blatant partisan.
Jeannie Rhee, who was hired by Mueller last summer to work on the probe, was the personal attorney of Ben Rhodes and also represented the Clinton Foundation, Ingraham revealed. “This information will put further pressure on Special Prosecutor Bob Mueller to resign.”
Rhee is the third member of the Mueller team this week who has been shown to be brazenly partisan. Two other members of the team have been revealed as highly questionable hires in recent days as well — Peter Strzok, an anti-Trumper who helped exonerate Hillary Clinton, and Andrew Weissmann, an unscrupulous prosecutor who told outgoing acting Attorney General Sally Yates in an email that he was “proud” of her for defying President Trump’s travel ban.
https://pjmedia.com/trending/another-one-mueller-deputy-personal-attorney-ben-rhodes-represented-clinton-foundation/
Brit Hume Doubts Mueller Will Tell the Truth if He Comes Up Empty
By Stephen Kruiser December 5, 2017
ike many Americans, venerable news anchor Brit Hume finds some of the recent revelations about the ongoing Mueller investigation into Russia and Trump to be very unsettling. Hume was an early critic of James Comey, and now he levels some very harsh doubts about the integrity of Robert Mueller.
https://pjmedia.com/video/brit-hume-doubts-mueller-will-tell-truth-comes-empty/
Profs call ‘rightwing’ reporting a form of ‘violence’
group of education professors recently claimed that Campus Reform “attacks” and commits “violence” against “faculty who represent historically marginalized groups.”
In the most recent issue of the Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 11 professors signed onto a joint statement condemning the “violence” perpetrated by news outlets that report on higher education, including The College Fix and Campus Reform.
“The attack on critical scholars within US universities has greatly accelerated with the election, statements, and actions of Donald Trump,” the professors write, later adding that “We know these attacks are only going to grow, and we know we cannot just be in a defensive mode.”
https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=10232
I wonder how many of the useful idiots will believe what they are saying.
German Young Socialists Want the Government to Fund ‘Feminist Porn’ on TV
The Young Socialists in Berlin, Germany’s capital, want the government to subsidize “feminist porn,” including BDSM (bondage, domination, sadism, masochism), for television stations and individual purchase.
“Film funding also promotes ‘The Dream Ship’ and Nazi documentaries. We don’t want to prescribe specific practices either. It’s about someone applying for state funding,” Heike Hoffmann, a 20-year-old history student who is a deputy head of state for the Young Socialists of the German Social Democratic Party (SPD), told Welt.
Hoffmann suggested that the government should pay for pornography on the grounds that it is not endorsing the actions, but presenting educational information to the people.
https://pjmedia.com/lifestyle/german-young-socialist-wants-the-government-to-fund-feminist-porn-on-tv/
Michelle asks Trudeau about his plans to remove FGM from the Citizenship Guide
MP Michelle Rempel questioning Justin Trudeau about plans to remove the listing of ‘female genital mutilation’ (FGM) as a harmful practice from the Canadian Citizenship Guide. The Government has named November 25 – December 10 as the “16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence”. Michelle is asking you to help her stop this by sending Trudeau a message.
Here’s how you can help:
1) Email Ah**********@*****gc.ca and tell him not to remove labeling FGM a harmful practice from the Canadian Citizenship Guide;
2) Sign this petition ( https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-1310 ) registering your opposition to this change and;
3) Share this video and the petition.
Michelle holding Trudeau Liberals to account on FGM Citizenship Guide Removal
Trudeau is removing listing female genital mutilation as a harmful practice that isn’t tolerated in Canada from Canada’s Citizenship Guide. We’re putting the pressure on him to change.
The translation of the answer sound like this to me:
We’ll continue pretending to fight FGM because we don’t want the public to know we are more interested in using islam to destroy Western Civilisation.
Arabs, Europe, U.N. reject Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israeli capital (reuters, Dec 6, 2017)
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-israel-jerusalem-reaction/arabs-europe-u-n-reject-trumps-recognition-of-jerusalem-as-israeli-capital-idUSKBN1E0312?il=0
“Arabs and Muslims across the Middle East on Wednesday condemned the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital as an incendiary move in a volatile region and Palestinians said Washington was abandoning its leading role as a peace mediator.
The European Union and United Nations also voiced alarm at U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and its repercussions for any chances of reviving Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking.
Major U.S. allies came out against Trump’s reversal of decades of U.S. and broad international policy on Jerusalem.
France rejected the “unilateral” decision while appealing for calm in the region. Britain said the move would not help peace efforts and Jerusalem should ultimately be shared by Israel and a future Palestinian state. Germany said Jerusalem’s status could only be resolved on the basis of a two-state solution.
Israel, by contrast, applauded Trump’s move. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a pre-recorded video message that it was “an important step towards peace” and it was “our goal from Israel’s first day”.
He added that any peace accord with the Palestinians would have to include Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and he urged other countries to follow Trump’s example.
Trump upended decades of U.S. policy in defiance of warnings from around the world that the gesture risks aggravating conflict in the tinderbox Middle East.
The status of Jerusalem is home to sites holy to the Muslim, Jewish and Christian faiths. Its eastern sector was captured by Israel in a 1967 war and annexed in a move not recognized internationally. Palestinians claim East Jerusalem for the capital of an independent state they seek.
Israel deems Jerusalem its eternal and indivisible capital dating to antiquity, and its status is one of the thorniest barriers to a lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in a pre-recorded speech, said Jerusalem was the “eternal capital of the State of Palestine” and that Trump’s move was “tantamount to the United States abdicating its role as a peace mediator.”
The last round of U.S.-brokered talks foundered in 2014 over issues including Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank and Israeli accusations of Palestinian incitement to violence and refusal to recognize it as a Jewish state.
The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which has dominated Gaza since soon after Israel ended a 38-year occupation in 2005, said Trump had committed a “flagrant aggression against the Palestinian people”. Hamas urged Arabs and Muslims to “undermine U.S. interests in the region” and to “shun Israel”.
Protests broke out in parts of Jordan’s capital Amman inhabited by Palestinian refugees, with youths chanting anti-American slogans. In the Baqaa refugee camp on Amman’s outskirts, hundreds roamed the streets denouncing Trump and urging Jordan to scrap its 1994 peace treaty with Israel. “Down with America…America is the mother of terror,” they chanted.
Angry Palestinians switched off Christmas lights at Jesus’ traditional birthplace in the West Bank town of Bethlehem and in Ramallah. A tree adorned with lights outside Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity, where Christians believe Jesus was born, and another in Ramallah, next to the grave of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, were plunged into darkness.
All Palestinian factions called for a general strike and protest rallies at midday on Thursday.
Egypt, which forged the first Arab peace deal with Israel in 1979, brushed off Trump’s decision and said it did not change Jerusalem’s disputed legal status.
Jordan said Trump’s action was “legally null” because it consolidated Israel’s occupation of East Jerusalem.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun said Trump’s Jerusalem decision was dangerous and threatened the credibility of the United States as a broker of Middle East peace. He said the move would put back the peace process by decades and threatened regional stability and perhaps global stability.
Qatar’s foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, said Trump’s undertaking was a “death sentence for all who seek peace” and called it “a dangerous escalation”.
Turkey said Trump’s move was “irresponsible”.
“We call upon the U.S. Administration to reconsider this faulty decision which may result in highly negative outcomes and to avoid uncalculated steps that will harm the multicultural identity and historical status of Jerusalem,” the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement.
A few hundred protesters gathered outside the U.S. consulate in Istanbul, a Reuters cameraman at the scene said. The protest was largely peaceful, though some of the demonstrators threw coins and other objects at the consulate.
Iran “seriously condemns” Trump’s move as it violates U.N. resolutions on the Israel-Palestinian conflict, state media reported. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said earlier in the day that the United States was trying to destabilize the region and start a war to protect Israel’s security.
British Prime Minister Theresa May disagreed with Trump’s embrace of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital before a final-status agreement as this was unlikely to help nurture peace in the region, her spokesman said.
However, May’s spokesman welcomed Trump’s stated wish to end the conflict and his acknowledgement that the final status of Jerusalem, including boundaries within the city, must be subject to negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.”
‘Death Sentence’: World Leaders Slam Trump Over Reckless Jerusalem Stunt (sputniknews, Dec 6, 2017)
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201712071059769884-un-jerusalem-reax-trump-embassy/
EU calls for Jerusalem to be capital of both Palestine and Israel (alaraby, Dec 6, 2017)
https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2017/12/6/eu-jerusalem-should-be-capital-of-both-states
Erdogan: ISIS Members Evacuated from Raqqa Went to Egypt (aawsat, Dec 6, 2017)
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1105251/erdogan-isis-members-evacuated-raqqa-went-egypt
“Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that terrorists who fled Raqqa, Syria, went to Egypt to fight in the Sinai Peninsula.
“ISIS elements who fled Raqqa, which was freed from the terrorist organization in a joint operation by the US-led coalition and the Syrian Democratic Forces SDF in October, were sent to Egypt to carry out operations in the Sinai desert,” Erdogan said Tuesday.
He accused the United States, during a meeting of the AKP parliamentary bloc in Ankara, of trying to use the weapons it has sent to the region against Iran, Turkey, or Russia.
The Turkish President, who said his country had achieved great success in fighting ISIS while other countries were forming alliances with “terrorist organizations” (in reference to the coordination between Washington and the Kurdish People’s Protection Units YPG in Syria), did not disclose more details about the number of terrorists who moved to Sinai or how they infiltrated Egypt.
In this context, press reports revealed Ankara’s warning to Europe that hundreds of terrorist “elements” who fled Raqqa, will resume their terrorist activities there…”
Bomb blast kills nine people in Pakistan, near Afghan border (gulfnews, Dec 6, 2017)
http://gulfnews.com/news/asia/pakistan/bomb-blast-kills-nine-people-in-pakistan-near-afghan-border-1.2136597
“A bomb rigged to a motorcycle exploded in a militant-plagued part of northwest Pakistan near the Afghan border, killing nine people, officials said on Wednesday, the latest violence in a recent rise in attacks in the nuclear-armed country.
The bomb was detonated by remote control late on Tuesday when an army vehicle passed in Mir Ali town in the North Waziristan region, said three Pakistani officials who declined to be identified as they are not authorised to speak to the media.
A spokesman for the Pakistani army, which is responsible for security in the volatile, ethnic Pashtun region, did not respond to calls seeking comment…”
Makkah tops in violation of job feminization rules (saudigazette, Dec 6, 2017)
http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/523597/SAUDI-ARABIA/Makkah-tops-in-violation-of-job-feminization-rules
“According to statistics made available by the Ministry of Labor and Social Development, the Makkah province topped all other regions of the Kingdom in the number of violations against employment regulations, the Makkah newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Quoting officials from the ministry, the daily said Makkah topped not only in violations of Saudization of work overall but also in feminizing jobs in lingerie and women’s accessory stores in the third phase of the program.
According to the ministry, there were 1,905 violations detected in Makkah in 35 days since the third phase of the job nationalization and feminization of the women lingerie and accessory shops was launched.
It said as many as 5,919 violations of the two decisions were found all over the Kingdom at a rate of 170 violations every day.
The largest number of inspection visits was carried out in Riyadh. The city witnessed 4,286 visits out of a total of 29,333 inspection tours conducted by the ministry in collaboration with a number of other government departments in all towns and cities of the Kingdom.
Khaled Aba Al-Khail, the ministry’s spokesman, said there were 1,376 violations of job nationalization while the number of violations against feminization of work in the lingerie shops was 3,723.
He said 820 other miscellaneous violations. He added that 5,325 warnings were issued during the period.
Aba Al-Khail said the inspection tours resulted in 21,531 establishments announcing their commitment to the ministry’s decisions aimed at Saudizing and feminizing work in lingerie shops.
The third phase of the feminization of work in women’s accessory shops was launched in October. It will cover all shops selling products for women including lingerie, perfumes, shoes, bags, stockings, ready-made clothes and others.”
ISIL militants who crossed into Turkey pose serious threat: Prosecutor (hurriyetdailynews, Dec 6, 2017)
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/isil-militants-who-crossed-into-turkey-pose-serious-threat-prosecutor-123670
“The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants who crossed into Turkey after being defeated in Syria and Iraq pose a serious threat, according to a prosecutor investigating one of the jihadists.
According to the indictment prepared by Ankara Public Prosecutor Adem Ak?nc?, the militants may carry out attacks in Turkey after crossing into the country from Syria and Iraq.
Recent reports said dozens of ISIL militants crossed into Turkey after losing swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq, and police operations against suspected jihadists across Turkey were stepped up as a result…”
‘Together We Are Stronger’: Spanish Interior Minister Commends Moroccan Anti-Terrorist Collaboration (moroccoworldnews, Dec 6, 2017)
https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2017/12/235684/spain-morocco-juan-ignacio-zoido-moroccan-anti-terrorist-collaboration-terrorism/
“Juan Ignacio Zoido, the Spanish interior minister, has once again underscored the importance of Moroccan-Spanish anti-terrorism cooperation, after the arrest of four individuals suspected of disseminating propaganda supporting terrorist groups.
The first Moroccan-Spanish suspect was arrested in Tangier by the Moroccan authorities, while the three others were arrested in both Barcelona and Madrid. The anti-terrorist joint operation was led by Spanish and Moroccan authorities.
After the success of the operation, Zoido hailed the joint security cooperation between the two countries, asserting that “together we are stronger” in the face of terrorist groups.
Commenting on the arrested suspects, Zoido said that those arrested were aiming at radicalizing the largest possible number of internet users, reported Maghreb Arab Press (MAP).
The Spanish official added that since 2015, the year in which the anti-terrorist alert has increased to level four, Spanish security elements managed to arrest 217 fighters in Spain.
Zoido paid an official visit to Rabat in August, during which he stressed the importance of joint cooperations between the two countries to fight against terrorism and extremism.
The Spanish minister said during his visit that “the close collaboration between Spain and Morocco in counterterrorism matters allowed the authorities to conduct 12 joint operations, which resulted in the arrest of 175 jihadists.”
He explained that the world can only make an end to the terror threat through unity and international cooperation.
“The alarming rapidity of radicalization imposes the need to work within the European Union in order to prevent and fight against terrorism,” he said.
The minister also pointed out that “information exchange and preventive intelligence should be strengthened,” adding that “it is also necessary to promote meetings of analysts and investigations on terrorist organizations.””
Berlin police officers must speak German during shifts, state ministry requests (DW, Dec 6, 2017)
http://www.dw.com/en/berlin-police-officers-must-speak-german-during-shifts-state-ministry-requests/a-41682104
“In response to questioning by the far-right AfD, Berlin’s Interior Ministry has requested police speak German at work. But it has stressed that the ability to speak other languages is generally helpful.
The Berlin Interior Affairs Ministry on Wednesday requested that the city’s police officers do not communicate with each other in foreign languages while on duty, in response to a parliamentary question by the far-right populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
“The use of a foreign language between officers in the course of their duties was occasionally recognized by superiors,” it admitted in a statement (PDF).
The police force’s official language is German and officers know this, the statement stressed. The use of German forms “the basis for good, transparent and trusting cooperation” within the agency, the ministry said.
“When this transparency is not ensured in certain cases by the use of a foreign language, such behavior must be addressed and openly stopped by superiors or colleagues,” the ministry statement continued.
Foreign languages desirable
But it stressed that knowledge of foreign languages was generally desirable for police officers “because they could be helpful in contact with tourists and other foreigners.”
Up to a third of people living in Berlin have a migration background and the make-up of new recruits in the Berlin police force deliberately matches that. According to the Senate, about 29 percent of new police officers had a foreign background in 2015, with the largest group coming from Turkish families, followed by people with Polish roots.
Other backgrounds included Eastern European, Asian and Arab roots, the report noted.
The issue came to light when AfD politician Hans-Joachim Berg asked State Secretary of Interior Affairs Torsten Akmann whether the Senate was aware that police officers were speaking “non-German” in front of their colleagues during shifts. A series of follow-up questions focused on the German ability of new recruits and whether use of the German language had decreased.
According to Akmann, it did not appear that the ability to speak German had declined in recent years.”
Request!! How about order and enforce the order, or are they afraid that the Moslems will ignre the order and are trying to save face by making it a request?
Australian diplomat on refugee policy: ‘We are not inhumane’ (DW, Dec 6, 2017)
http://www.dw.com/en/australian-diplomat-on-refugee-policy-we-are-not-inhumane/a-41682978
“Alexander Downer, Australia’s High Commissioner to the UK, defends his country’s hard line on refugees and asylum seekers in an exclusive interview with DW.
“We are not inhumane, we provide humane conditions. No matter what allegations they make, we are not going to bow to their demands and we are not going to become the victims of people smugglers,” Alexander Downer told Tim Sebastian on DW’s Conflict Zone.
“We don’t take people who try to get to Australia by paying smugglers,” the Australian High Commissioner to the UK insisted, referring to asylum seekers who have come from Indonesia by boat and often paid large sums of money for illegal passage. Hundreds have died making this journey, however the number of arrivals has decreased since the government introduced harsher measures.
Hardline border security
Australia has long had a tough border security policy. Refugees and migrants trying to reach the continent by boat are intercepted and interned in offshore detention centers on Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island and Nauru in the South Pacific. But even if they gain refugee status, the government doesn’t allow them to be settled in Australia. In 2013, the coalition government tightened Australia’s asylum policy even further, when it launched Operation Sovereign Borders, putting the military in charge of protecting the country’s frontiers…”
Tucker: Good riddance to Al Franken, but there’s a downside
He is right, we have always been the party that wanted fair trails not lynch mobs, this is just another nail in the coffin of the rule of law in the US.