Why Trump Criticized a London Under Attack
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/ar ... sm/529119/
Excerpt:
For Trump and his supporters, globalism kills jobs and it kills people. And it does the latter, in large measure, by allowing Muslims into the West. Keeping America exceptional, therefore, means ensuring that Muslims never gain the same foothold in the U.S. than they’ve gained on the other side of the Atlantic. This idea has obsessed Steve Bannon for years. He’s explained that one of the reasons he opened a Breitbart office in London was to show Americans that “all these Shariah courts were starting under British law.” In December 2015, he warned that if America doesn’t “hit the pause button today … we’re going to be importing at least a couple of million Muslims” per year. In a Fox interview this February about Trump’s travel ban, senior White House aide Stephen Miller brought up Europe unprompted. “The most important thing to discuss right now,” he said, “is how do we keep this country from falling into the same trap as happened to parts of Europe to places like Germany, to places like France, where you have a permanent intergenerational problem of Islamic radicalism that becomes a routine feature of life in those countries, a new normal. How do we keep that from happening in America?”
That’s what makes Sadiq Khan, London’s first Muslim mayor, such a useful foil. He personifies Muslims’ growing prominence in European life. He undermines Obama’s argument: that what distinguishes America from Europe is its ability to integrate Muslims. But he perfectly illustrates Trump’s: that what distinguishes America from Europe is that America’s Muslim population remains numerically small and politically weak.
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Trump accuses London Mayor Khan of "pathetic excuse" over attack statement
LONDON, June 5 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump accused London Mayor Sadiq Khan on Monday of making a "pathetic excuse" over one of his comments following the attack that killed seven people in London on Saturday night.
Khan had said on Sunday morning that people would see an increased police presence on the streets of the capital and should not be alarmed by that.
"Pathetic excuse by London Mayor Sadiq Khan who had to think fast on his 'no reason to be alarmed' statement. MSM is working hard to sell it!," Trump said in a Tweet. MSM referred to mainstream media.
Trump had faced a barrage of criticism on Sunday over an earlier Tweet that said: "At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is 'no reason to be alarmed!'."
More..
http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/politics/ ... ailsignout
TRUMP AND ISLAM
NEW STUDY: ISLAMOPHOBIA COMMON IN CATHOLIC MEDIA
Excerpt:
The role of these voices in shaping the discourse on Islam in prominent segments of U.S. Catholic media might explain why Catholics who frequently consume Catholic media have more unfavorable views of Muslims than those who don’t. It might also explain why Donald Trump was supported by a majority of white Catholic voters in the 2016 election. For Catholics who have long been exposed to the Steve Bannon-approved portrayal of Islam that appears in some Catholic media, Trump’s campaign rhetoric and policy proposals (which were in part shaped by Bannon) would have felt quite familiar.
More...
http://religiondispatches.org/new-study ... 7-84570085
Excerpt:
The role of these voices in shaping the discourse on Islam in prominent segments of U.S. Catholic media might explain why Catholics who frequently consume Catholic media have more unfavorable views of Muslims than those who don’t. It might also explain why Donald Trump was supported by a majority of white Catholic voters in the 2016 election. For Catholics who have long been exposed to the Steve Bannon-approved portrayal of Islam that appears in some Catholic media, Trump’s campaign rhetoric and policy proposals (which were in part shaped by Bannon) would have felt quite familiar.
More...
http://religiondispatches.org/new-study ... 7-84570085
Comment: Trump doesn't want Muslims in the U.S. That's OK with the supreme court
The U.S. supreme court has decided that parts of Donald Trump’s Muslim ban can take effect, lifting lower court injunctions on his executive order and noting that it would hear the case in October. Days earlier, Trump’s White House broke with decades of tradition by refusing to host a traditional dinner, an iftar, for Muslim Americans during the holy month of Ramadan.
While failing to host a dinner seems minor compared to establishing the law of the land, these two events are closely related – and bode terribly for Muslim Americans. Why? Because both actions chip away at the essential idea that Muslims are a legitimate presence in the United States.
More..
http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/com ... li=AAggNb9
The U.S. supreme court has decided that parts of Donald Trump’s Muslim ban can take effect, lifting lower court injunctions on his executive order and noting that it would hear the case in October. Days earlier, Trump’s White House broke with decades of tradition by refusing to host a traditional dinner, an iftar, for Muslim Americans during the holy month of Ramadan.
While failing to host a dinner seems minor compared to establishing the law of the land, these two events are closely related – and bode terribly for Muslim Americans. Why? Because both actions chip away at the essential idea that Muslims are a legitimate presence in the United States.
More..
http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/com ... li=AAggNb9
Passengers Flying Into U.S. to Face More Scrutiny, but Laptops Allowed
WASHINGTON — Passengers flying to the United States from foreign airports will undergo more rigorous screening of their baggage and electronic devices, but they will be allowed to bring laptops and tablets onto planes in their carry-on bags, the Department of Homeland Security announced on Wednesday.
After months of discussions with aviation officials in Europe about banning large electronic devices, homeland security officials ultimately abandoned the idea in favor of more robust screening measures. In March, the department imposed a limited ban barring passengers traveling through airports in 10 Muslim-majority countries from carrying devices larger than cellphones aboard direct inbound flights.
Now, agency officials said, the ban on those airlines will be lifted if they carry out the new security measures.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/28/us/p ... d=71987722
WASHINGTON — Passengers flying to the United States from foreign airports will undergo more rigorous screening of their baggage and electronic devices, but they will be allowed to bring laptops and tablets onto planes in their carry-on bags, the Department of Homeland Security announced on Wednesday.
After months of discussions with aviation officials in Europe about banning large electronic devices, homeland security officials ultimately abandoned the idea in favor of more robust screening measures. In March, the department imposed a limited ban barring passengers traveling through airports in 10 Muslim-majority countries from carrying devices larger than cellphones aboard direct inbound flights.
Now, agency officials said, the ban on those airlines will be lifted if they carry out the new security measures.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/28/us/p ... d=71987722
US bars teenage Afghan inventors from entering the country - but is expected to allow their robot in
Six teenage girls from Afghanistan have been denied visas to travel to the US for an international robotics competition, but they will be permitted to send their ball-sorting contraption to compete without them.
The aspiring inventors wept when they heard they couldn't escort their machine to Washington DC for the First Global Challenge, an annual contest for high school students from across the world.
Team Afghanistan work on their project (FIRST Global Media)
They had twice trekked around 500 miles from Herat, a western city in Afghanistan, to the American embassy in Kabul to apply for the one-week travel visas.
More..
http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/us- ... ailsignout
Six teenage girls from Afghanistan have been denied visas to travel to the US for an international robotics competition, but they will be permitted to send their ball-sorting contraption to compete without them.
The aspiring inventors wept when they heard they couldn't escort their machine to Washington DC for the First Global Challenge, an annual contest for high school students from across the world.
Team Afghanistan work on their project (FIRST Global Media)
They had twice trekked around 500 miles from Herat, a western city in Afghanistan, to the American embassy in Kabul to apply for the one-week travel visas.
More..
http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/us- ... ailsignout
BREAKING: Obama Flown to SHOCK Location After Susan Rice Agrees to Testify
Susan Rice agreed to testify before the House Intel panel on Thursday, prompting Former President Obama to jet off to Indonesia on a moment’s notice. He landed in Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital, on Friday. (via ABC News)
Disturbing Video Evidence Proves Obama Should Have Never Been President.
Indonesia is one of the few countries that has yet to sign an extradition treaty with the United States, offering protection if an arrest warrant is release for the former president.
Barack Obama spent his formative years in Indonesia, the most populated Islamic nation. He lived in Jakarta from the ages of 6 – 10, after his mother married Barack’s step-father, Lolo Soetoro.
http://www.angrypatriotmovement.com/oba ... 20170702-1
Susan Rice agreed to testify before the House Intel panel on Thursday, prompting Former President Obama to jet off to Indonesia on a moment’s notice. He landed in Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital, on Friday. (via ABC News)
Disturbing Video Evidence Proves Obama Should Have Never Been President.
Indonesia is one of the few countries that has yet to sign an extradition treaty with the United States, offering protection if an arrest warrant is release for the former president.
Barack Obama spent his formative years in Indonesia, the most populated Islamic nation. He lived in Jakarta from the ages of 6 – 10, after his mother married Barack’s step-father, Lolo Soetoro.
http://www.angrypatriotmovement.com/oba ... 20170702-1
‘Love Thy Neighbor?’
When a Muslim doctor arrived in a rural Midwestern town, “it felt right.” But that feeling began to change after the election of Donald Trump.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national ... 8647c4b96d
When a Muslim doctor arrived in a rural Midwestern town, “it felt right.” But that feeling began to change after the election of Donald Trump.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national ... 8647c4b96d
Winnipeg man wants answers after being refused entry to the U.S.
A Winnipeg man with a Bangladeshi passport believes he was denied entry to the U.S. without just cause.
Md Mofizul Islam attempted to cross the border south of Cartwright, Man., with his wife and a friend on June 30 and planned to spend three days vacationing in Montana.
But Islam, 31, was held up for three hours at the border where agents fingerprinted and photographed him.
"The officer said, 'I'm sorry, we're not giving you any permission. So this time we're refusing your application. And next time you have to have your new passport and then if you want to come to the United States again you can try to come.'"
He said one officer took him into a private room and asked him if he had a weapon, along with a series of other questions. Eventually, U.S. border officers told him his Bangladeshi passport wasn't valid, even though it doesn't expire for nine months.
http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/wi ... ailsignout
A Winnipeg man with a Bangladeshi passport believes he was denied entry to the U.S. without just cause.
Md Mofizul Islam attempted to cross the border south of Cartwright, Man., with his wife and a friend on June 30 and planned to spend three days vacationing in Montana.
But Islam, 31, was held up for three hours at the border where agents fingerprinted and photographed him.
"The officer said, 'I'm sorry, we're not giving you any permission. So this time we're refusing your application. And next time you have to have your new passport and then if you want to come to the United States again you can try to come.'"
He said one officer took him into a private room and asked him if he had a weapon, along with a series of other questions. Eventually, U.S. border officers told him his Bangladeshi passport wasn't valid, even though it doesn't expire for nine months.
http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/wi ... ailsignout
TRUMP ADMITS HIS RELIGIOUS LIBERTY ORDER IS JUST “A GREAT THING FOR CHRISTIANITY”
http://religiondispatches.org/trump-adm ... 5-84570085
Excerpt:
“The evangelicals were so great to me,” Trump responded. He continued:
And they did—they came out in massive numbers, and on top of that I got 83 percent. But they came out in record numbers; they never came out like that. And we’ve really helped, because I’ve gotten rid of the Johnson Amendment, now we’re going to go try and get rid of it permanently in Congress, but I’ve signed an executive order so that now, people like you, that I want to hear from, ministers and preachers and rabbis, and whoever it may be, they can speak. You know, you couldn’t speak politically before. Now you can. And I want to hear from you, and others, that we like. Franklin Graham, I had such a, Dr. Jeffress, Robert Jeffress, who is such a great guy, Pastor Jeffress. He used to go on television, I didn’t know who he was, I’d see him and he was always speaking so well of me, and, you know, you have so many people that I want to hear from. Now they’re going to be able to speak, and that’s going to be a great thing for Christianity, believe me. A great, great thing. And it’s a great thing for religion.
Trump is overstating the impact of that May executive order, which ultimately amounted to “a whole lot of nothing,” as I’ve reported here on RD. And despite the president’s proclamation, the Johnson Amendment remains in force, though it has rarely, if ever, actually been used to penalize a clergyperson for speaking out about politics or a particular candidate.
Of course, the bigger news here is that Trump just admitted (again) that his executive and administrative actions are intended to privilege Christians, and specifically advance the conservative, anti-gay, anti-choice agenda of people the President “loves” like Pat Robertson. (In case you need a reminder of just how far-right Robertson lies, check out The Daily Beast‘s admirable recounting of “all the insane things he has said.”)
http://religiondispatches.org/trump-adm ... 5-84570085
Excerpt:
“The evangelicals were so great to me,” Trump responded. He continued:
And they did—they came out in massive numbers, and on top of that I got 83 percent. But they came out in record numbers; they never came out like that. And we’ve really helped, because I’ve gotten rid of the Johnson Amendment, now we’re going to go try and get rid of it permanently in Congress, but I’ve signed an executive order so that now, people like you, that I want to hear from, ministers and preachers and rabbis, and whoever it may be, they can speak. You know, you couldn’t speak politically before. Now you can. And I want to hear from you, and others, that we like. Franklin Graham, I had such a, Dr. Jeffress, Robert Jeffress, who is such a great guy, Pastor Jeffress. He used to go on television, I didn’t know who he was, I’d see him and he was always speaking so well of me, and, you know, you have so many people that I want to hear from. Now they’re going to be able to speak, and that’s going to be a great thing for Christianity, believe me. A great, great thing. And it’s a great thing for religion.
Trump is overstating the impact of that May executive order, which ultimately amounted to “a whole lot of nothing,” as I’ve reported here on RD. And despite the president’s proclamation, the Johnson Amendment remains in force, though it has rarely, if ever, actually been used to penalize a clergyperson for speaking out about politics or a particular candidate.
Of course, the bigger news here is that Trump just admitted (again) that his executive and administrative actions are intended to privilege Christians, and specifically advance the conservative, anti-gay, anti-choice agenda of people the President “loves” like Pat Robertson. (In case you need a reminder of just how far-right Robertson lies, check out The Daily Beast‘s admirable recounting of “all the insane things he has said.”)
How Trump Is Stealthily Carrying Out His Muslim Ban
Excerpt:
While these short-term travel restrictions will be at the heart of what the Supreme Court considers this fall, they have never been the president’s ultimate objective. Instead, his endgame, as he repeatedly made clear on the campaign trail, is the “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.” And in a quiet, under-the-radar manner, his administration has been hard at work to make that happen.
The State Department has already moved to implement the president’s “extreme vetting” directive by imposing new, onerous visa application requirements. Several weeks ago, the agency invoked emergency review and approval procedures to push through these changes with minimal public comment or scrutiny. They force applicants to submit years’ worth of personal data, including from social media accounts.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/18/opin ... d=45305309
Excerpt:
While these short-term travel restrictions will be at the heart of what the Supreme Court considers this fall, they have never been the president’s ultimate objective. Instead, his endgame, as he repeatedly made clear on the campaign trail, is the “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.” And in a quiet, under-the-radar manner, his administration has been hard at work to make that happen.
The State Department has already moved to implement the president’s “extreme vetting” directive by imposing new, onerous visa application requirements. Several weeks ago, the agency invoked emergency review and approval procedures to push through these changes with minimal public comment or scrutiny. They force applicants to submit years’ worth of personal data, including from social media accounts.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/18/opin ... d=45305309
Afghan Girls’ Robotics Team Wins Limelight at Competition
WASHINGTON — The Afghan teenager didn’t say anything as she scrolled through three days’ worth of pictures on her phone, her finger swiping across the screen. Feet dangling over a Washington fountain. Posing with students from Iraq and Iran. A meal carefully laid out on an airplane tray.
But then the teenager, Kawsar Roshan, paused, tilting the screen to show a picture of a piece of United States government paperwork she received only Thursday.
“This is my visa,” the 15-year-old said with a broad smile. “It’s a memory.”
It took an international outcry and intervention from President Trump and other officials to allow her and five other girls from an Afghan robotics team to receive visas after two rejections, letting them travel to the United States for participation in First Global, an international robotics contest.
More..
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/18/worl ... d=45305309
WASHINGTON — The Afghan teenager didn’t say anything as she scrolled through three days’ worth of pictures on her phone, her finger swiping across the screen. Feet dangling over a Washington fountain. Posing with students from Iraq and Iran. A meal carefully laid out on an airplane tray.
But then the teenager, Kawsar Roshan, paused, tilting the screen to show a picture of a piece of United States government paperwork she received only Thursday.
“This is my visa,” the 15-year-old said with a broad smile. “It’s a memory.”
It took an international outcry and intervention from President Trump and other officials to allow her and five other girls from an Afghan robotics team to receive visas after two rejections, letting them travel to the United States for participation in First Global, an international robotics contest.
More..
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/18/worl ... d=45305309
Trump administration sued over phone searches at U.S. borders
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration has engaged in an unconstitutional practice of searching without a warrant the phones and laptops of Americans who are stopped at the border, a lawsuit filed on Wednesday alleged.
Ten U.S. citizens and one lawful permanent resident sued the Department of Homeland Security in federal court, saying the searches and prolonged confiscation of their electronic devices violate privacy and free speech protections of the U.S. Constitution.
DHS could not be immediately reached for comment.
The lawsuit comes as the number of searches of electronic devices has surged in recent years, alarming civil rights advocates.
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol reported in April that searches increased from 8,500 in fiscal year 2015 to about 19,000 in fiscal year 2016. The agency has conducted nearly 15,000 in the first half of fiscal year 2017.
The suit, filed in a U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, is being brought by travelers including a military veteran, a NASA engineer, two journalists and a computer programmer. The Electronic Frontier Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union, who are representing the travelers, said that several of the plaintiffs are Muslim or minorities.
Suhaib Allababidi, a U.S. citizen who lives in Texas and a plaintiff in the case, said in an interview that he was stopped by Customs and Border Patrol on Jan. 21 at the Dallas airport after returning from a business trip to Dubai.
Allababidi said he declined to unlock his personal phone for the officers after allowing them to search his separate business phone.
The officers confiscated both his phones, Allababidi said, and returned his business phone to him two months later. The government has still not returned his personal phone after more than seven months, he said.
More...
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-i ... me=topNews
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration has engaged in an unconstitutional practice of searching without a warrant the phones and laptops of Americans who are stopped at the border, a lawsuit filed on Wednesday alleged.
Ten U.S. citizens and one lawful permanent resident sued the Department of Homeland Security in federal court, saying the searches and prolonged confiscation of their electronic devices violate privacy and free speech protections of the U.S. Constitution.
DHS could not be immediately reached for comment.
The lawsuit comes as the number of searches of electronic devices has surged in recent years, alarming civil rights advocates.
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol reported in April that searches increased from 8,500 in fiscal year 2015 to about 19,000 in fiscal year 2016. The agency has conducted nearly 15,000 in the first half of fiscal year 2017.
The suit, filed in a U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, is being brought by travelers including a military veteran, a NASA engineer, two journalists and a computer programmer. The Electronic Frontier Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union, who are representing the travelers, said that several of the plaintiffs are Muslim or minorities.
Suhaib Allababidi, a U.S. citizen who lives in Texas and a plaintiff in the case, said in an interview that he was stopped by Customs and Border Patrol on Jan. 21 at the Dallas airport after returning from a business trip to Dubai.
Allababidi said he declined to unlock his personal phone for the officers after allowing them to search his separate business phone.
The officers confiscated both his phones, Allababidi said, and returned his business phone to him two months later. The government has still not returned his personal phone after more than seven months, he said.
More...
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-i ... me=topNews
Trump’s Tweets About London Bombing Anger British Leaders
WASHINGTON — President Trump seized on a terrorist attack in London on Friday to promote his ban on travel to the United States by Muslims and, in the process, ran afoul of Britain by claiming without evidence that the assailants had been “in the sights” of the British police.
In a fusillade of early morning tweets, Mr. Trump cited the chaotic scene in a London Underground station as Exhibit A for his hard-line policies. His ban on visitors from predominantly Muslim countries, he wrote, should be “far larger, tougher and more specific” — a statement that seemed calculated to mollify his political base after a week in which Mr. Trump suddenly began playing dealmaker with Democrats on immigration.
But Mr. Trump’s assertion that the assailants had been known to Scotland Yard angered Prime Minister Theresa May, who said it was not helpful for anyone to speculate while an investigation was underway. Mr. Trump was later briefed about the attack and called Mrs. May with condolences, according to a senior official, though he did not apologize.
It was the latest episode in which Mr. Trump was at odds with Britain over sensitive security issues. In June, he criticized London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, over his response to another terrorist attack, misconstruing Mr. Khan’s words. In March, the White House press secretary at the time, Sean Spicer, repeated allegations that a British intelligence agency had wiretapped Trump Tower, which British authorities dismissed as “utterly ridiculous.”
More..
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/15/us/p ... d=71987722
WASHINGTON — President Trump seized on a terrorist attack in London on Friday to promote his ban on travel to the United States by Muslims and, in the process, ran afoul of Britain by claiming without evidence that the assailants had been “in the sights” of the British police.
In a fusillade of early morning tweets, Mr. Trump cited the chaotic scene in a London Underground station as Exhibit A for his hard-line policies. His ban on visitors from predominantly Muslim countries, he wrote, should be “far larger, tougher and more specific” — a statement that seemed calculated to mollify his political base after a week in which Mr. Trump suddenly began playing dealmaker with Democrats on immigration.
But Mr. Trump’s assertion that the assailants had been known to Scotland Yard angered Prime Minister Theresa May, who said it was not helpful for anyone to speculate while an investigation was underway. Mr. Trump was later briefed about the attack and called Mrs. May with condolences, according to a senior official, though he did not apologize.
It was the latest episode in which Mr. Trump was at odds with Britain over sensitive security issues. In June, he criticized London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, over his response to another terrorist attack, misconstruing Mr. Khan’s words. In March, the White House press secretary at the time, Sean Spicer, repeated allegations that a British intelligence agency had wiretapped Trump Tower, which British authorities dismissed as “utterly ridiculous.”
More..
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/15/us/p ... d=71987722
If Only Stephen Paddock Were a Muslim
If only Stephen Paddock had been a Muslim … If only he had shouted “Allahu akbar” before he opened fire on all those concertgoers in Las Vegas … If only he had been a member of ISIS … If only we had a picture of him posing with a Quran in one hand and his semiautomatic rifle in another …
If all of that had happened, no one would be telling us not to dishonor the victims and “politicize” Paddock’s mass murder by talking about preventive remedies.
No, no, no. Then we know what we’d be doing. We’d be scheduling immediate hearings in Congress about the worst domestic terrorism event since 9/11. Then Donald Trump would be tweeting every hour “I told you so,” as he does minutes after every terror attack in Europe, precisely to immediately politicize them. Then there would be immediate calls for a commission of inquiry to see what new laws we need to put in place to make sure this doesn’t happen again. Then we’d be “weighing all options” against the country of origin.
But what happens when the country of origin is us?
What happens when the killer was only a disturbed American armed to the teeth with military-style weapons that he bought legally or acquired easily because of us and our crazy lax gun laws?
Then we know what happens: The president and the Republican Party go into overdrive to ensure that nothing happens. Then they insist — unlike with every ISIS-related terror attack — that the event must not be “politicized” by asking anyone, particularly themselves, to look in the mirror and rethink their opposition to common-sense gun laws.
So let’s review: We will turn the world upside down to track down the last Islamic State fighter in Syria — deploying B-52s, cruise missiles, F-15s, F-22s, F-35s and U-2s. We will ask our best young men and women to make the ultimate sacrifice to kill or capture every last terrorist. And how many Americans has the Islamic State killed in the Middle East? I forget. Is it 15 or 20? And our president never stops telling us that when it comes to ISIS, defeat is not an option, mercy is not on the menu, and he is so tough he even has a defense secretary nicknamed “Mad Dog.”
But when fighting the N.R.A. — the National Rifle Association, which more than any other group has prevented the imposition of common-sense gun-control laws — victory is not an option, moderation is not on the menu and the president and the G.O.P. have no mad dogs, only pussycats.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/03/opin ... d=45305309
If only Stephen Paddock had been a Muslim … If only he had shouted “Allahu akbar” before he opened fire on all those concertgoers in Las Vegas … If only he had been a member of ISIS … If only we had a picture of him posing with a Quran in one hand and his semiautomatic rifle in another …
If all of that had happened, no one would be telling us not to dishonor the victims and “politicize” Paddock’s mass murder by talking about preventive remedies.
No, no, no. Then we know what we’d be doing. We’d be scheduling immediate hearings in Congress about the worst domestic terrorism event since 9/11. Then Donald Trump would be tweeting every hour “I told you so,” as he does minutes after every terror attack in Europe, precisely to immediately politicize them. Then there would be immediate calls for a commission of inquiry to see what new laws we need to put in place to make sure this doesn’t happen again. Then we’d be “weighing all options” against the country of origin.
But what happens when the country of origin is us?
What happens when the killer was only a disturbed American armed to the teeth with military-style weapons that he bought legally or acquired easily because of us and our crazy lax gun laws?
Then we know what happens: The president and the Republican Party go into overdrive to ensure that nothing happens. Then they insist — unlike with every ISIS-related terror attack — that the event must not be “politicized” by asking anyone, particularly themselves, to look in the mirror and rethink their opposition to common-sense gun laws.
So let’s review: We will turn the world upside down to track down the last Islamic State fighter in Syria — deploying B-52s, cruise missiles, F-15s, F-22s, F-35s and U-2s. We will ask our best young men and women to make the ultimate sacrifice to kill or capture every last terrorist. And how many Americans has the Islamic State killed in the Middle East? I forget. Is it 15 or 20? And our president never stops telling us that when it comes to ISIS, defeat is not an option, mercy is not on the menu, and he is so tough he even has a defense secretary nicknamed “Mad Dog.”
But when fighting the N.R.A. — the National Rifle Association, which more than any other group has prevented the imposition of common-sense gun-control laws — victory is not an option, moderation is not on the menu and the president and the G.O.P. have no mad dogs, only pussycats.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/03/opin ... d=45305309
I Want ‘Allahu Akbar’ Back
Excerpt:
“Allahu akbar” is in the headlines again because the 29-year-old man who plowed a rental truck along a bicycle path killing eight people and injuring a dozen in Manhattan on Tuesday is reported to have said it after the attack. My heart sank as I heard the live news coverage, dotted with pieces of information meant to help us make sense of a tragedy: the suspect’s physical description, the kind of vehicle he drove, the stunned eyewitness accounts emphatically saying that it didn’t look at all accidental. And the two words the police say he shouted when the unthinkable act was over: Allahu akbar.
The attack had similarities to the one that took place in Charlottesville, Va., in August, when a neo-Nazi, James Alex Fields, rammed his car into a crowd of people who were protesting against a rally staged by white nationalists, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injuring 19 people. President Trump defended his initial response blaming violence on “many sides,” saying, “It takes a little while to get the facts.” That caution doesn’t seem to be applied when the suspects have been described by witnesses as “Middle Eastern” — and definitely not when they’ve said, “Allahu akbar.”
Not long after the killing in Charlottesville, Muslim extremists in Barcelona plowed a vehicle through a crowd, killing 16 people. Within hours, Mr. Trump repeated a long-debunked myth, urging those who sought to combat terrorism to “study what General Pershing did to terrorists when caught” — shoot them with a bullet smeared in pig’s blood. “There was no more Radical Islamic Terror for 35 years!” he tweeted. Allow me to clarify: You don’t have to dip your bullets in pig blood to kill us. Regular bullets work just fine. Why? Because we’re human.
That’s why it hurts that on Tuesday, “Allahu” and “akbar,” those two simple words so close to our hearts, instantly shaped the entire news coverage and presidential response. A common, benign phrase used daily by Muslims, especially during prayer, is now understood as code for “It was terrorism.”
It’s easy to forget that language is often hijacked and weaponized by violent extremists. Some people yell “Allahu akbar” and others chant “heritage,” “culture” and “white pride.” The preferred slogans of a killer don’t make much difference to the people whose lives are lost or their loved ones, but they make all the difference in Americans’ collective understanding of a tragedy.
Within hours of the Manhattan attack, Mr. Trump tweeted: “I have just ordered Homeland Security to step up our already Extreme Vetting Program. Being politically correct is fine, but not for this!” He also said on Tuesday that he would end the Diversity Visa Lottery program through which officials say the attacker entered the country. It’s the sort of reaction that was conspicuously lacking with respect to gun control after the recent mass shooting in Las Vegas.
If only the hurricane that devastated Puerto Rico, leaving American citizens in desperate need of power, food or water, could have yelled, “Allahu akbar,” triggering that kind of tough response. Perhaps our president would have been able to see the storm as evil. Perhaps he would have been energized by a “them versus us” rage to insist on swift action to repair the damage.
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https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/01/opin ... .html?_r=0
Excerpt:
“Allahu akbar” is in the headlines again because the 29-year-old man who plowed a rental truck along a bicycle path killing eight people and injuring a dozen in Manhattan on Tuesday is reported to have said it after the attack. My heart sank as I heard the live news coverage, dotted with pieces of information meant to help us make sense of a tragedy: the suspect’s physical description, the kind of vehicle he drove, the stunned eyewitness accounts emphatically saying that it didn’t look at all accidental. And the two words the police say he shouted when the unthinkable act was over: Allahu akbar.
The attack had similarities to the one that took place in Charlottesville, Va., in August, when a neo-Nazi, James Alex Fields, rammed his car into a crowd of people who were protesting against a rally staged by white nationalists, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injuring 19 people. President Trump defended his initial response blaming violence on “many sides,” saying, “It takes a little while to get the facts.” That caution doesn’t seem to be applied when the suspects have been described by witnesses as “Middle Eastern” — and definitely not when they’ve said, “Allahu akbar.”
Not long after the killing in Charlottesville, Muslim extremists in Barcelona plowed a vehicle through a crowd, killing 16 people. Within hours, Mr. Trump repeated a long-debunked myth, urging those who sought to combat terrorism to “study what General Pershing did to terrorists when caught” — shoot them with a bullet smeared in pig’s blood. “There was no more Radical Islamic Terror for 35 years!” he tweeted. Allow me to clarify: You don’t have to dip your bullets in pig blood to kill us. Regular bullets work just fine. Why? Because we’re human.
That’s why it hurts that on Tuesday, “Allahu” and “akbar,” those two simple words so close to our hearts, instantly shaped the entire news coverage and presidential response. A common, benign phrase used daily by Muslims, especially during prayer, is now understood as code for “It was terrorism.”
It’s easy to forget that language is often hijacked and weaponized by violent extremists. Some people yell “Allahu akbar” and others chant “heritage,” “culture” and “white pride.” The preferred slogans of a killer don’t make much difference to the people whose lives are lost or their loved ones, but they make all the difference in Americans’ collective understanding of a tragedy.
Within hours of the Manhattan attack, Mr. Trump tweeted: “I have just ordered Homeland Security to step up our already Extreme Vetting Program. Being politically correct is fine, but not for this!” He also said on Tuesday that he would end the Diversity Visa Lottery program through which officials say the attacker entered the country. It’s the sort of reaction that was conspicuously lacking with respect to gun control after the recent mass shooting in Las Vegas.
If only the hurricane that devastated Puerto Rico, leaving American citizens in desperate need of power, food or water, could have yelled, “Allahu akbar,” triggering that kind of tough response. Perhaps our president would have been able to see the storm as evil. Perhaps he would have been energized by a “them versus us” rage to insist on swift action to repair the damage.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/01/opin ... .html?_r=0
Trump Shares Inflammatory Anti-Muslim Videos, and Britain’s Leader Condemns Them
WASHINGTON — President Trump touched off another racially charged furor on Wednesday by sharing videos from a fringe British ultranationalist group purportedly showing Muslims committing acts of violence, a move that was swiftly condemned by Britain’s prime minister as well as politicians across the spectrum.
The videos Mr. Trump retweeted were titled: “Muslim migrant beats up Dutch boy on crutches!” “Muslim Destroys a Statue of Virgin Mary!” and “Islamist mob pushes teenage boy off roof and beats him to death!” But the assailant in one of them was not a “Muslim migrant” and the other two showed four-year-old events with no explanation.
No modern American president has promoted inflammatory content of this sort from an extremist organization. Mr. Trump’s two most recent predecessors, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, both made a point of avoiding public messages that were likely to be seen as anti-Muslim and could exacerbate racial and religious animosities, arguing that the war against terrorism was not a war against Islam.
But Mr. Trump has shown little such restraint, targeting Muslims with a broad brush, including when he claimed on the campaign trail last year that “Islam hates us” and when he called for a “total and complete shutdown” of Muslims coming to the United States. Since taking office, he has sought to block visitors from select Muslim-majority nations and engaged in a long-distance feud with the Muslim mayor of London, whom he branded weak on terrorism.
The messages came at a time when Mr. Trump has been lashing out at an array of perceived adversaries, including the National Football League, CNN, NBC and Democratic leaders. He referred to a senator as “Pocahontas” this week in front of Navajo veterans he was honoring. In a meandering speech in St. Charles, Mo., on Wednesday, Mr. Trump labeled North Korea’s leader a “sick puppy,” asserted that welfare recipients lived better than some people with jobs, noted that his wealthy friends “love their children” and insisted that he did not like some bankers even though he was making their job “easy for them.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/29/us/p ... d=45305309
WASHINGTON — President Trump touched off another racially charged furor on Wednesday by sharing videos from a fringe British ultranationalist group purportedly showing Muslims committing acts of violence, a move that was swiftly condemned by Britain’s prime minister as well as politicians across the spectrum.
The videos Mr. Trump retweeted were titled: “Muslim migrant beats up Dutch boy on crutches!” “Muslim Destroys a Statue of Virgin Mary!” and “Islamist mob pushes teenage boy off roof and beats him to death!” But the assailant in one of them was not a “Muslim migrant” and the other two showed four-year-old events with no explanation.
No modern American president has promoted inflammatory content of this sort from an extremist organization. Mr. Trump’s two most recent predecessors, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, both made a point of avoiding public messages that were likely to be seen as anti-Muslim and could exacerbate racial and religious animosities, arguing that the war against terrorism was not a war against Islam.
But Mr. Trump has shown little such restraint, targeting Muslims with a broad brush, including when he claimed on the campaign trail last year that “Islam hates us” and when he called for a “total and complete shutdown” of Muslims coming to the United States. Since taking office, he has sought to block visitors from select Muslim-majority nations and engaged in a long-distance feud with the Muslim mayor of London, whom he branded weak on terrorism.
The messages came at a time when Mr. Trump has been lashing out at an array of perceived adversaries, including the National Football League, CNN, NBC and Democratic leaders. He referred to a senator as “Pocahontas” this week in front of Navajo veterans he was honoring. In a meandering speech in St. Charles, Mo., on Wednesday, Mr. Trump labeled North Korea’s leader a “sick puppy,” asserted that welfare recipients lived better than some people with jobs, noted that his wealthy friends “love their children” and insisted that he did not like some bankers even though he was making their job “easy for them.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/29/us/p ... d=45305309
Supreme Court allows full enforcement of Trump travel ban
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is allowing the Trump administration to fully enforce a ban on travel to the United States by residents of six mostly Muslim countries.
This is not a final ruling on the travel ban: Challenges to the policy are winding through the federal courts, and the justices themselves ultimately are expected to rule on its legality.
But the action indicates that the high court might eventually approve the latest version of the ban, announced by President Donald Trump in September. Lower courts have continued to find problems with the policy.
Opponents of this and previous versions of the ban say they show a bias against Muslims. They say that was reinforced most recently by Trump's retweets of anti-Muslim videos.
"President Trump's anti-Muslim prejudice is no secret. He has repeatedly confirmed it, including just last week on Twitter. It's unfortunate that the full ban can move forward for now, but this order does not address the merits of our claims," said Omar Jadwat, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Immigrants' Rights Project. The ACLU is representing some opponents of the ban.
Just two justices, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor, noted their disagreement with court orders allowing the latest policy to take full effect.
More...
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/su ... ailsignout
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is allowing the Trump administration to fully enforce a ban on travel to the United States by residents of six mostly Muslim countries.
This is not a final ruling on the travel ban: Challenges to the policy are winding through the federal courts, and the justices themselves ultimately are expected to rule on its legality.
But the action indicates that the high court might eventually approve the latest version of the ban, announced by President Donald Trump in September. Lower courts have continued to find problems with the policy.
Opponents of this and previous versions of the ban say they show a bias against Muslims. They say that was reinforced most recently by Trump's retweets of anti-Muslim videos.
"President Trump's anti-Muslim prejudice is no secret. He has repeatedly confirmed it, including just last week on Twitter. It's unfortunate that the full ban can move forward for now, but this order does not address the merits of our claims," said Omar Jadwat, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Immigrants' Rights Project. The ACLU is representing some opponents of the ban.
Just two justices, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor, noted their disagreement with court orders allowing the latest policy to take full effect.
More...
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/su ... ailsignout
U.S. Put 92 Somalis on a Deportation Flight, Then Brought Them Back
Ninety-two Somali citizens were flown out of the United States under orders of deportation on Thursday, but their plane never made it to Somalia. The flight landed in the West African country of Senegal and, facing logistical problems, was rerouted back to the United States.
It was an unexpected, 5,000-mile backtrack for the migrants, some of whom have lived in the United States for years, or even decades, while on a list for deportation because they had entered the country without proper documentation.
More...
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/us ... ailsignout
Ninety-two Somali citizens were flown out of the United States under orders of deportation on Thursday, but their plane never made it to Somalia. The flight landed in the West African country of Senegal and, facing logistical problems, was rerouted back to the United States.
It was an unexpected, 5,000-mile backtrack for the migrants, some of whom have lived in the United States for years, or even decades, while on a list for deportation because they had entered the country without proper documentation.
More...
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/us ... ailsignout
Trump Supporters Attempt to 'Arrest' London Mayor
Far-right supporters holding aloft American flags attempted to perform a “citizen’s arrest” of London mayor and Trump critic Sadiq Khan on Saturday.
Khan was delivering a speech at the left-wing Fabian Society when protesters from a group called the White Pendragons, shouting pro-Trump and pro-Brexit slogans, disrupted his talk, according to multiple reports.
Khan on Friday had said that President Donald Trump had “got the message” that he was “not welcome in London” after the president canceled a planned state visit.
In a video posted on Twitter, one protester says "Ladies and gentlemen, we're here today to make a non-violent, peaceful citizen's arrest."
More...
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/tr ... ailsignout
Far-right supporters holding aloft American flags attempted to perform a “citizen’s arrest” of London mayor and Trump critic Sadiq Khan on Saturday.
Khan was delivering a speech at the left-wing Fabian Society when protesters from a group called the White Pendragons, shouting pro-Trump and pro-Brexit slogans, disrupted his talk, according to multiple reports.
Khan on Friday had said that President Donald Trump had “got the message” that he was “not welcome in London” after the president canceled a planned state visit.
In a video posted on Twitter, one protester says "Ladies and gentlemen, we're here today to make a non-violent, peaceful citizen's arrest."
More...
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/tr ... ailsignout
New Scrutiny Coming for Refugees From 11 “High-Risk” Nations
The Trump administration said on Monday that it is resuming the admission of refugees from 11 countries with additional screening that it said will increase security but which refugee groups say will make it harder for Muslims to find safe haven in the United States.
In late October, after a pause in admissions, the administration began accepting new refugees except for those from the 11 countries, citing the need for a 90-day security review. Officials did not name the countries, but they were widely reported to be Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Mali, North Korea, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Those countries have accounted for more than 40 percent of all refugee admissions in recent years.
Refugees from those countries will now be admitted again, but only after additional screening. “These additional security measures will make it harder for bad actors to exploit our refugee program, and they will ensure we take a more risk-based approach to protecting the homeland,” the secretary of homeland security, Kirstjen Nielsen, said in a statement.
Officials from refugee resettlement agencies said that while they welcomed the resumption of admissions, the announcement reinforced their view that the administration was determined to quash arrivals from Muslim countries by making it harder for them to qualify for approval.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/29/us/m ... d=45305309
The Trump administration said on Monday that it is resuming the admission of refugees from 11 countries with additional screening that it said will increase security but which refugee groups say will make it harder for Muslims to find safe haven in the United States.
In late October, after a pause in admissions, the administration began accepting new refugees except for those from the 11 countries, citing the need for a 90-day security review. Officials did not name the countries, but they were widely reported to be Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Mali, North Korea, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Those countries have accounted for more than 40 percent of all refugee admissions in recent years.
Refugees from those countries will now be admitted again, but only after additional screening. “These additional security measures will make it harder for bad actors to exploit our refugee program, and they will ensure we take a more risk-based approach to protecting the homeland,” the secretary of homeland security, Kirstjen Nielsen, said in a statement.
Officials from refugee resettlement agencies said that while they welcomed the resumption of admissions, the announcement reinforced their view that the administration was determined to quash arrivals from Muslim countries by making it harder for them to qualify for approval.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/29/us/m ... d=45305309
Another appeals court blocks travel ban 3.0
The Fourth Circuit finds anti-Muslim bias in Donald Trump’s tweets
IT TOOK the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals 70 days to issue its ruling in International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) v Trump, a challenge to Donald Trump’s third attempt to ban travel from countries he deems threatening to America. We now know what took the 13 judges so long: the decision, released on February 15th, includes eight opinions spanning 285 pages. Travel ban 3.0 remains a poorly masked reflection of the president’s disdain for Muslims, the court found by a 9-4 vote. Contempt for and irrational fear of a religious group cannot be squared, Chief Judge Roger Gregory wrote, with the First Amendment’s bar on religious discrimination.
More...
https://www.economist.com/blogs/democra ... lydispatch
The Fourth Circuit finds anti-Muslim bias in Donald Trump’s tweets
IT TOOK the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals 70 days to issue its ruling in International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) v Trump, a challenge to Donald Trump’s third attempt to ban travel from countries he deems threatening to America. We now know what took the 13 judges so long: the decision, released on February 15th, includes eight opinions spanning 285 pages. Travel ban 3.0 remains a poorly masked reflection of the president’s disdain for Muslims, the court found by a 9-4 vote. Contempt for and irrational fear of a religious group cannot be squared, Chief Judge Roger Gregory wrote, with the First Amendment’s bar on religious discrimination.
More...
https://www.economist.com/blogs/democra ... lydispatch
Pompeo and Bolton Appointments Raise Alarm Over Ties to Anti-Islam Groups
Excerpt:
Mr. Bolton and Mr. Pompeo both have ties to individuals and groups promoting a worldview that regards Islam not so much as a religion, but as a political ideology that is infiltrating the United States and other Western countries with the goal of imposing Shariah law, the Muslim legal code. These groups believe that the vehicle for this takeover is the Muslim Brotherhood, and they allege that American mosques, civic organizations and leaders and even government officials who are Muslims are suspected of being Muslim Brotherhood operatives.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/06/us/p ... 9877220407
Excerpt:
Mr. Bolton and Mr. Pompeo both have ties to individuals and groups promoting a worldview that regards Islam not so much as a religion, but as a political ideology that is infiltrating the United States and other Western countries with the goal of imposing Shariah law, the Muslim legal code. These groups believe that the vehicle for this takeover is the Muslim Brotherhood, and they allege that American mosques, civic organizations and leaders and even government officials who are Muslims are suspected of being Muslim Brotherhood operatives.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/06/us/p ... 9877220407
What Islamophobic Politicians Can Learn From Mormons
Last month, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on President Trump’s travel ban, popularly known as the “Muslim ban” because of his statements, like one in 2015 calling for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.”
But Mr. Trump is far from the only Republican willing to discriminate against Muslims. BuzzFeed News reported in April that since 2015, Republican officials in 49 states have publicly attacked Islam, some even questioning its legitimacy as a religion.
The only exception? Utah. In that state, where a majority of residents is Mormon, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, elected officials seem to have a deep understanding that an attack on the religious freedom of one group is an attack on the religious freedom of everyone. The rest of the nation should follow their example.
More....
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/22/opin ... -utah.html
Last month, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on President Trump’s travel ban, popularly known as the “Muslim ban” because of his statements, like one in 2015 calling for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.”
But Mr. Trump is far from the only Republican willing to discriminate against Muslims. BuzzFeed News reported in April that since 2015, Republican officials in 49 states have publicly attacked Islam, some even questioning its legitimacy as a religion.
The only exception? Utah. In that state, where a majority of residents is Mormon, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, elected officials seem to have a deep understanding that an attack on the religious freedom of one group is an attack on the religious freedom of everyone. The rest of the nation should follow their example.
More....
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/22/opin ... -utah.html
The justices vote 5-4 to uphold Donald Trump’s travel ban
The ruling drew a furious dissent from Justice Sonia Sotomayor
ON JUNE 26th, after months of legal wrangling over Donald Trump’s executive orders banning travel from several Muslim-majority countries, the Supreme Court effectively put an end to the battle. Officially, the five-justice majority’s opinion in Trump v Hawaii, which upholds the third version of the travel ban, sends the matter back to lower courts to ask again whether Mr Trump’s policy violates a constitutional bar on religious discrimination. But it is unlikely that further scrutiny will yield a different result. The most recent proclamation, from September 2017, fulfilling the president’s campaign promise to keep Muslims out of America is consistent, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote, with both immigration law and the First Amendment.
More...
https://www.economist.com/democracy-in- ... travel-ban
The ruling drew a furious dissent from Justice Sonia Sotomayor
ON JUNE 26th, after months of legal wrangling over Donald Trump’s executive orders banning travel from several Muslim-majority countries, the Supreme Court effectively put an end to the battle. Officially, the five-justice majority’s opinion in Trump v Hawaii, which upholds the third version of the travel ban, sends the matter back to lower courts to ask again whether Mr Trump’s policy violates a constitutional bar on religious discrimination. But it is unlikely that further scrutiny will yield a different result. The most recent proclamation, from September 2017, fulfilling the president’s campaign promise to keep Muslims out of America is consistent, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote, with both immigration law and the First Amendment.
More...
https://www.economist.com/democracy-in- ... travel-ban
Immigrant "shocked" to be abruptly kicked out of the military
NEW YORK -- For more than a decade, the U.S. has offered immigrants who join the military a fast track to citizenship. But now, some immigrant recruits and reservists say they've been abruptly discharged without being told why.
CBS News spoke to one Pakistani man about being kicked out of the military. He didn't want his identity shown in fear of reprisal if he has to return to his home country.
"The feeling was just that like getting kicked out of your own home," he said. "I was so shocked there was so many tears in my eyes, my hands couldn't move fast enough to wipe them."
He said that on June 11, his recruiter called him and to say the 22-year-old will be discharged, despite the fact that he says he passed a military background check.
He had enlisted in 2016, with hopes of becoming a legal U.S. citizen through a program called Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest, or MAVNI. The program began in 2008 as a way for the military to find people with special medical and language skills. In return, the foreign-born recruits were promised a path to citizenship. Since 2008, more than 10,000 people have enlisted through MAVNI.
More...
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/im ... ailsignout
NEW YORK -- For more than a decade, the U.S. has offered immigrants who join the military a fast track to citizenship. But now, some immigrant recruits and reservists say they've been abruptly discharged without being told why.
CBS News spoke to one Pakistani man about being kicked out of the military. He didn't want his identity shown in fear of reprisal if he has to return to his home country.
"The feeling was just that like getting kicked out of your own home," he said. "I was so shocked there was so many tears in my eyes, my hands couldn't move fast enough to wipe them."
He said that on June 11, his recruiter called him and to say the 22-year-old will be discharged, despite the fact that he says he passed a military background check.
He had enlisted in 2016, with hopes of becoming a legal U.S. citizen through a program called Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest, or MAVNI. The program began in 2008 as a way for the military to find people with special medical and language skills. In return, the foreign-born recruits were promised a path to citizenship. Since 2008, more than 10,000 people have enlisted through MAVNI.
More...
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/im ... ailsignout
A Too-Narrow Vision of Religious Freedom
The Trump administration embraces a laudable desire to expand religious tolerance, but its own intolerance toward some undermines the message.
Even President Trump’s fiercest critics can find something to applaud in the administration’s campaign to protect and advance religious freedom around the world.
The State Department’s inaugural conference on the subject drew hundreds of activists and scores of foreign officials to Washington last month and produced a statement of core beliefs and a plan to hold follow-up meetings in the United States and overseas.
Invoking the 70-year-old Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the conference’s concluding statement asserted that “every person has the right to hold any faith or belief, or none at all, and enjoys the freedom to change faith” and argued that “defending the freedom of religion or belief is the collective responsibility of the global community.” To which we say, amen.
But the initiative’s good intentions are in danger of being undermined by the administration’s political agenda, which emphasizes the American strain of evangelical Christianity over other beliefs. In addition, the administration is pursuing immigration and foreign aid policies that belie its stated defense of religious rights.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/18/opin ... 3053090819
The Trump administration embraces a laudable desire to expand religious tolerance, but its own intolerance toward some undermines the message.
Even President Trump’s fiercest critics can find something to applaud in the administration’s campaign to protect and advance religious freedom around the world.
The State Department’s inaugural conference on the subject drew hundreds of activists and scores of foreign officials to Washington last month and produced a statement of core beliefs and a plan to hold follow-up meetings in the United States and overseas.
Invoking the 70-year-old Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the conference’s concluding statement asserted that “every person has the right to hold any faith or belief, or none at all, and enjoys the freedom to change faith” and argued that “defending the freedom of religion or belief is the collective responsibility of the global community.” To which we say, amen.
But the initiative’s good intentions are in danger of being undermined by the administration’s political agenda, which emphasizes the American strain of evangelical Christianity over other beliefs. In addition, the administration is pursuing immigration and foreign aid policies that belie its stated defense of religious rights.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/18/opin ... 3053090819
Who Needs a Border Wall When You Have DS-5535?
A new, quietly introduced visa form reminds us that mind-numbing bureaucracy can be an effective family-separation tool if that’s your game.
Excerpt:
It has now been five months since that visa interview, and over a year since the initial application. The year and a half of separation is because of one form: the DS-5535. The Trump administration and the State Department quietly enacted this requirement in May of 2017 as part of their plans for “extreme vetting,” and possibly a way of circumventing the disputed travel ban, which has since been upheld by the Supreme Court. While most Americans are aware of the family separations at the border in Texas, I don’t believe many people know about the DS-5535 form and how it’s tearing families apart.
The DS-5535 requires visa applicants to provide the past 15 years of their travel history, past and current social media handles, email accounts, addresses and employment history. At the interview, the adjudicating officer explained to my fiancée that even though he found our relationship to be “bona fide,” she would nevertheless have to fill out the DS-5535 for a “Security Advisory Opinion” — meaning that they want to investigate her further.
My fiancée is from a Muslim country. Her full name is Arabic. Fifteen years ago, she was 9 years old and traveled with her family on vacations. She attended a university in France for five years and graduated with a master’s degree in applied mathematics and computer science. On her social media accounts, you will find a young woman’s love for American culture, New York City, fashion, food, traveling and Drake. Queue the alarm bells.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/24/opin ... dline&te=1
A new, quietly introduced visa form reminds us that mind-numbing bureaucracy can be an effective family-separation tool if that’s your game.
Excerpt:
It has now been five months since that visa interview, and over a year since the initial application. The year and a half of separation is because of one form: the DS-5535. The Trump administration and the State Department quietly enacted this requirement in May of 2017 as part of their plans for “extreme vetting,” and possibly a way of circumventing the disputed travel ban, which has since been upheld by the Supreme Court. While most Americans are aware of the family separations at the border in Texas, I don’t believe many people know about the DS-5535 form and how it’s tearing families apart.
The DS-5535 requires visa applicants to provide the past 15 years of their travel history, past and current social media handles, email accounts, addresses and employment history. At the interview, the adjudicating officer explained to my fiancée that even though he found our relationship to be “bona fide,” she would nevertheless have to fill out the DS-5535 for a “Security Advisory Opinion” — meaning that they want to investigate her further.
My fiancée is from a Muslim country. Her full name is Arabic. Fifteen years ago, she was 9 years old and traveled with her family on vacations. She attended a university in France for five years and graduated with a master’s degree in applied mathematics and computer science. On her social media accounts, you will find a young woman’s love for American culture, New York City, fashion, food, traveling and Drake. Queue the alarm bells.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/24/opin ... dline&te=1
The Muslims Are Coming
It’s the hate directed toward Islam that has motivated so many to enter the political arena.
The Muslims are coming!
For some Americans — those who support a travel ban, a wall along the Mexican border and increased restrictions on refugees, all while holding on to the ridiculous belief that the world’s 1.8 billion Muslim hate America, despite the fact that it’s home to nearly 3.5 million of us — that statement probably inspires fear.
But it’s true: Nearly 100 Muslim political hopefuls have filed to run for elected office this year. Only a dozen or so ran in 2016.
In July, The Associated Press interviewed Muslim candidates about this record number. The reporting revealed that it’s precisely the bigotry and hate that has been directed toward Islam — including in remarks and tweets by President Trump — that has motivated so many Muslims to enter the political arena, where they now stand poised to advance policies that directly reflect their faith and also benefit all of their constituents.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/30/opin ... dline&te=1
It’s the hate directed toward Islam that has motivated so many to enter the political arena.
The Muslims are coming!
For some Americans — those who support a travel ban, a wall along the Mexican border and increased restrictions on refugees, all while holding on to the ridiculous belief that the world’s 1.8 billion Muslim hate America, despite the fact that it’s home to nearly 3.5 million of us — that statement probably inspires fear.
But it’s true: Nearly 100 Muslim political hopefuls have filed to run for elected office this year. Only a dozen or so ran in 2016.
In July, The Associated Press interviewed Muslim candidates about this record number. The reporting revealed that it’s precisely the bigotry and hate that has been directed toward Islam — including in remarks and tweets by President Trump — that has motivated so many Muslims to enter the political arena, where they now stand poised to advance policies that directly reflect their faith and also benefit all of their constituents.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/30/opin ... dline&te=1
Religious Freedom May Now Include Discrimination Against Jews and Muslims
Oct 25, 2018, 3:12pm Heron Greenesmith
South Carolina governor Henry McMaster moved to protect Miracle Hill and other agencies that want to to discriminate against Jews and others and continue to receive government funding.
More...
https://rewire.news/religion-dispatches ... d-muslims/
Oct 25, 2018, 3:12pm Heron Greenesmith
South Carolina governor Henry McMaster moved to protect Miracle Hill and other agencies that want to to discriminate against Jews and others and continue to receive government funding.
More...
https://rewire.news/religion-dispatches ... d-muslims/
Catholic Bishops’ Religious Liberty Fight Enables Anti-Jewish Discrimination
It’s not hard to extend the bishops' logic on discrimination against LGBTQ foster parents to the assertion that Christian social services agencies shouldn’t be “discriminated” against for refusing to work with Jews and Muslims.
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https://rewire.news/religion-dispatches ... imination/
It’s not hard to extend the bishops' logic on discrimination against LGBTQ foster parents to the assertion that Christian social services agencies shouldn’t be “discriminated” against for refusing to work with Jews and Muslims.
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