Month: December 2011

As Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood becomes more powerful, look for more Coptic Christian refugees

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Now who could have seen this coming?  JUST ABOUT ANYONE FOLLOWING THE RISE OF ISLAM IN AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST, THAT’S WHO!

Even the Leftist Los Angeles Times gets it now:

Muslims and Christians in Egypt made common cause in agitating for the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak, but the alliance is fraying. A report by The Times’ Jeffrey Fleishman about the country’s Coptic Christians — 10% of the population — suggests that they are developing painful second thoughts about the “Arab Spring” now that Islamist parties are in the ascendance.

[….]

Clearly Egypt will have to resolve the tension that is already evident between electoral democracy and pluralism. Its international credibility will depend to some extent on the degree to which it abides by international norms of religious freedom. But it is also in Egypt’s domestic interest to protect Christians. Although many Egyptian Christians are impoverished, others — former United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali is an example — are highly educated and affluent and have played leading roles in Egypt’s political and commercial life. Egypt would be poorer without them.

Laws that further institutionalized Islam also would speed the departure from Egypt of those Copts who have the means to relocate. The exodus of Christians from the Middle East, the cradle of their religion, is a sadly familiar story. From the West Bank to Lebanon to Iraq, they have left because of political instability, violence or discrimination. Sometimes they are refugees within their own countries. In 2008 more than 1,300 Iraqi Christians fled the city of Mosul after 14 were killed. Even when Christians stay — as the vast majority of Copts most likely would — their influence and well-being can suffer under an intolerant regime. That shouldn’t happen in post-revolutionary Egypt.  [And, why would Egypt be any different then other countries in the region as Islamic supremacism takes root?—ed]

Readers you may not hear the drumbeat about saving the Copts as loudly as you might another group, because the Left (the drum-beaters on resettlement) are invested in the myth that the Arab Spring was a good thing.  They won’t be so eager to trumpet the totalitarianism of strict Islamic rule being demonstrated already against the Coptic Christians.

ACLU lawsuit may determine whether those getting federal dollars can limit services for religious reasons

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Here we go again, more about how the US Conference of Catholic Bishops wants its cake and eat it too!  Bottom line Bishops—do your good works without taking taxpayer money!

From National Catholic Reporter:

WASHINGTON — A lawsuit pending in a Massachusetts federal court may determine if the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services can allow religiously based restrictions on reproductive health services in agreements with private agencies to provide social services.

The suit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union in Boston in January 2009, stems from a now ended five-year contract that HHS signed with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to provide case management services to foreign-born victims of human trafficking through its Migration and Refugee Services.

ACLU claims that the bishops’ conference dictated terms of the contract it received from the government to serve trafficking victims in violation of the separation of church and state provisions of the U.S. Constitution. ACLU attorneys maintain that the government, because it is spending taxpayer dollars, must set the terms of the contract.

Michael O. Leavitt, then Secretary of Health and Human Services, was named as the chief defendant. Since then Kathleen Sebelius, current health and human services secretary, has replaced Leavitt as the government’s defendant.

The USCCB joined the case as an intervenor and, through its attorney, argued that its intention under the contract not to fund abortion or contraceptive services was permitted because of religious freedom and conscience provisions in federal law.

The parties submitted final arguments to Judge Richard G. Stearns Oct. 18. He is expected to issue his decision early in 2012.

The contract in question, which expired Oct. 10, permitted MRS to adhere to church teaching and restrict agencies subcontracted to work with trafficking victims from providing services that were contrary to church teaching.

ACLU attorney Brigitte Amiri told CNS the case was filed because it is not the government’s prerogative to restrict access to health services that are legal.

“We believe it’s a violation of the separation of church and state to allow a religious entity to dictate the terms of a federal contract on how money should be spent,” Amiri said. “Not all trafficking victims need such services, but they need a host of reproductive services including contraception and, if pregnant, abortion.”

She added that the civil liberties organization found it “disturbing that the Catholic bishops forced this on the case managers even if they themselves have no objection to referring for such services.”

There is more, read on.

I used to think it was terribly cynical when people said it’s “all about the money,” but as time goes on, I’m sad to say it’s true more often then not.

Norway returning gay asylum seekers to Iraq

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

I don’t get it.  Norway, a self-proclaimed progressive nation that lets anyone in, is now returning gay men to Iraq, and if this article is correct, so are Sweden, Denmark and Finland.

The piece from a publication for gays says that gay men (Lesbians too I presume) will be killed for being homosexuals, but not one word about why that would happen—it’s Sharia Law—the Islamic faith prohibits homosexuality and I have a difficult time understanding why Leftists, running countries like Norway don’t get it.  Why are conservatives vilified when opposing gay marriage but homosexual political activists don’t vilify Islamists who want to kill them?

Here is the story:

Life is brutal for LGBTs living in Iraq: there’s the familial “honor killings,” police raids on gay parties, the secret police who will burn down your house and slash your throat, the murderers who stalk gay chat rooms for fresh victims, militia groups willing to gang rape and execute the gay out of you, and last but not least, the vigilante groups that will kill you by gluing your anus shut and feeding you laxatives.

So when Norway’s High Court refused asylum to gay Iraqi refugee Azad Hassan Rasol and suggested he “go home and be discrete,” they basically told him that if he acts less fruity, he might have a chance of actually surviving there—hardly a reassuring plan in a hellhole where every day could be his last.

Since Rasol hails from the Kurdish region of Iraq, Norwegian Immigration authorities said that the risk for gay men in that region “differs greatly” from the rest of Iraq and that he can seek protection from the regional authorities.

Uh, yeah… good plan.

Unless Norway or another country grants Rasol asylum, he and his Norwegian boyfriend will return to Iraq where Rasol says that his clan will gladly kill them.

Of course, the way Europe is going, gay men/women won’t be safe from Islamic persecution there either.  Check out this article (Hat tip: Judy) entitled ‘Sharia Law already devouring the UK.’

Somali cab drivers in Portland (Maine!) threaten lawsuit, city backs down

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Would someone please tell me why such apparently large numbers of Somali former “refugees,” who sought refuge from their terror-filled homeland in the Horn of Africa, are running back and forth to Africa for extended periods of time if there is so much danger there?

And, why are so many Somalis drawn to driving cabs and buses at airports, or working in airports in other capacities (Question for another day!)?   Well, that and meatpacking, of course.

This is a story about how Portland, ME officials would like to reduce the number of cab permits at the airport and recently required that cabbies show up in person to re-apply for their permit.  But NO! says the Somalis’ lawyer, that isn’t always possible—you are discriminating against all these guys who have to hop over to Africa from time to time!

From the Portland Press Herald:

PORTLAND — The city’s decision Friday to rescind a policy barring the use of any power-of-attorney agreement to get a taxi permit for the Portland International Jetport opens the door to talks about the issue, said the lawyer representing taxi drivers.

Sigmund Schutz, an attorney with Preti Flaherty, said the policy was “a back-door attempt to squeeze out” airport taxi drivers. Schutz represented 11 taxi owners and drivers from Somalia who sued the city over the policy, which was adopted last month.

The city had said it would no longer allow taxi drivers or owners to renew their access permits using powers of attorney. Instead, each permit applicant would have to appear in person.

The city has been trying to reduce the number of drivers of unreserved cabs — those that sit outside the terminal waiting for fares, as opposed to those that are called to pick up travelers — to 40 by tightening the rules on permit renewals.

And, I guess that cab driving is so lucrative that cabbies can afford trips to Africa!

The Somalis have argued that they sometimes have to go to their homeland to attend to family matters, and that those trips can be lengthy. They might not be in the country when their permit is up for renewal.

For new readers, another frequently visited post here at RRW is this one from 2009—‘Somali migration to Maine: it’s the welfare magnet, stupid!’

Iraqi refugee arrested in Norway for predicting more jihadist attacks in the US

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

We will control the world in 20 years!

And, they say Anders Breivik, who said that Muslim immigrants were a treat threat to Europe and his native Norway, is insane.  I wonder does Breivik have access to news in prison or his psych-ward?

From The Local (Norways News in English):

Norway’s Progress Party has called for the immediate arrest of Mullah Krekar after the firebrand jihadist spoke of the need for renewed terrorist attacks on the United States. 

[What!   I thought Obama’s election was going to bring a new day to our relationship with the Muslim world, and instead we learn they want to take us over! How could this be?—ed]

The Norway-based extremist made the comments in an interview with Finland’s MTV3. He also claimed that Islam “will control the entire world” within the next 20 years.

More than a decade on from the devastating terrorist attacks in the United States that left almost 3,000 people dead, Krekar said:

“They have learned nothing from the 9/11 attacks. That’s why they need two more attacks. It’s the only way the Americans will understand that we [Muslims] are people and not animals or slaves.”

Morten Ørsal Johansen, immigration policy spokesman for the populist Progress Party, said the remarks merited placing Krekar under arrest.

The Jihadist “refugee” has been in Norway for twenty years with no signs of assimilating, instead he founded an extremist group.   And, so much for that yearning for democracy!

Krekar, the co-founder of Islamist militant group Ansar al-Islam, moved to Norway as a refugee from northern Iraq in 1991.*

In the Finnish TV interview, he also spoke cryptically of how European-style democracy would never take root in the Middle East. Likening the export of Western democracy to a “plastic banana”, he said it would never work in the Arab world because, unlike the real thing, “you can’t eat it.

More attacks are inevitable, says the Iraqi refugee:

He also argued in the three-minute interview that further terrorist attacks were unavoidable, VG reports.

“It’s going to happen. It’s meant to happen. Jihad is meant to happen, I’m certain of it. Jihad is like a cat. If you lock up a cat it becomes dangerous,” said Krekar.

Here is a conundrum for the “progressives” ruling Norway:  will Krekar go to prison or the psych-ward for saying essentially the same thing as Breivik said?

* 1991 !  Weren’t those refugees from the First Gulf War supposed to be the good guys escaping Saddam Hussein….hmmmm!    We resettled 823 Iraqis in 1991 (annual report table 5).  Can we assume Norway got the only bad apple?   For new readers, two Iraqi refugees were arrested on terror charges in Kentucky this year, and have caused Homeland Security to re-screen some vague number of recent Iraqi refugees here.

And, by the way we (the US) resettled 9,388 Iraqis in FY2011, 18,016 in 2010, 18,833 in 2009 and 13,823 in 2008 (stats here) for a grand total of 60,060 in four years, but surely they all are good guys hankering for democracy and a better life!  Right?