Month: September 2009

FBI attempting to confirm through DNA testing if Seattle Somali killed peacekeepers in Somalia

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

I have a lot to say about this article, but no time to say it yet tonight.  Will follow up tomorrow, but here are the bare bones of this story from Seattle.  For background you might want to first read my post from Friday, here.

The FBI in Seattle is comparing DNA recovered from last week’s suicide bombing in Somalia with that of the man’s relatives, according to a federal law enforcement source familiar with the investigation.

FBI agents are investigating whether an American Somali refugee from Seattle was involved in the bombing on a peacekeeping base in Somalia that killed 21 people.

The father and mother of the Somali man have provided DNA samples to law enforcement officials, Abdirahman Warsame, a Somali-American who operates a Web site called the Terror Free Somalia Foundation, said today.

Warsame, 38, said he tracked down the father, Mohamud Mohamad, Thursday at a Rainier Valley business. The father spoke to him about the suspected death of his 18-year-old son, Omar, and his contacts with investigators, Warsame said.

The father is upset and “mourning the loss of his son,” while being embarrassed about the youth’s apparent connection to the bombing, said Warsame, an American Somali who came to the United States in 1996.

“He’s very sorry about the tragedy” and “ashamed of the whole thing,” Warsame said.

“Fake refugees!” Immigration fraud charges in Thai refugee camps, some claim UN workers involved

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

We are resettling tens of thousands of Burmese refugees presently housed in UN run camps in Thailand.  Resettlement agencies in the US are quick to tell us that most are Karen or Chin Christians who fought in the democracy movement in Myanmar (aka Burma), but here is a story that confirms rumors we have been hearing.  Some refugees resettled in the US and elsewhere in the West are not who they claim to be.  One rumor I’ve heard from someone personally knowledgeable about the camps is that Muslims are mixing in with the Christians and moving to the head of the line.

This article apparently first published in the Irrawaddy earlier this month and republished in The Sail, tells us that rampant immigration fraud is occurring in camps.  Although the story does not mention Muslims (or Rohingya), it does tell us there are claims that UNHCR workers are involved in the fraud.

MAE SOT — Since 2005, when resettlement began, a network of brokers has evolved to assist individuals from Burma who wish to enter the refugee camps and resettle in a third country.

The black market business has helped many to escape Burma— but not always the people who fit the criteria and need resettlement the most.

Residents at the three main camps around Mae Sot, who are waiting for resettlement, blame the influx of “fake applicants” for the long delays they endure. Many claim that the “pseudo-refugees” leave the camps first, deferring the resettlement of real applicants

“I see many fake refugees coming into the camp. They pay the brokers and the camp authorities. Then they get resettled first,” said Bo Bo, a resident at Nu Po camp.

He explained how he came to the camp in a large group from Mon State where their land was stolen by Burmese government forces. As farmers, they had been stripped of their entire livelihood. So, with nothing left, they fled to the border.

“We have to wait longer because the brokers help the fake refugees into the camp and they leave first. It’s not fair on us, We remain in the camp with nothing while they continue to run their businesses, often returning to Myawaddy and Rangoon,” he said.

Is “substitution” occurring?  Do UN workers particpate in the fraud?

It has been alleged that the camp authorities are working in cahoots with the brokers and have become immersed in the corruption and fraud that has sprung up around the resettlement process. Residents claim that brokers pay the palat for their clients’ entrance to the camp, allowing people with no valid refugee claim to enter.

[….]

The issue of identity theft has been accepted by resettlement agencies, but people continue to speculate who and what has allowed this problem to occur.

“Substitution is a major problem,” explained a former UNHCR worker who wished to remain anonymous. “No one is sure who is behind it, but it’s very possible that some UNHCR staff members are involved—they have power in the camps and oversee what goes on.

“It’s hard to tackle because everyone is too scared to complain. People in the camps don’t know if they are complaining to the actual people who are involved in the corruption and are worried that everyone will find out,” she said.

[….]

The refugee and migrant worker communities in and around Mae Sot have long accused UNHCR staff of being involved in the broker network. There’s no evidence to prove it, but many say they know people who have paid staff to arrange resettlement.

Some time ago we had a comment from a refugee resettlement agency employee who said he/she had expressed surprise to learn that among the Burmese refugees his agency was resettling, some did not speak either the Karen or the Chin language and he asked his supervisors who they were.  He said the response he got was something along the lines of ‘don’t ask!’

Utah refugee murderer

And, I continue to wonder about the case in Utah (almost a year and a half ago, here) where a Burmese refugee brutally murdered a little Burmese Karen girl in his apartment complex.  I don’t know what happened with the case, but at the time someone reported to me that the murderer was known to the people in the building as someone who came to their camp and got to the head of the line for resettlement.

The West is raising Jihadists in immigrant populations

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

I just came across this article on Drudge that you should see.  It is from the UK Telegraph and describes a “village” of Germans fighting with Pakistani and Afghani Jihadists against Western forces.  So, not only are we in America supplying young fighters—former refugees to whom we have given much—to Jihadi forces in Somalia, Europe too is supplying Muslims and Muslim converts to kill NATO soldiers.

The village, in Taliban-controlled Waziristan, is run by the notorious al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, which plots raids on Nato forces in Afghanistan.

A recruitment video presents life in the village as a desirable lifestyle choice with schools, hospitals, pharmacies and day care centres, all at a safe distance from the front.

In the video, the presenter, “Abu Adam”, the public face of the group in Germany, points his finger and asks: “Doesn’t it appeal to you? We warmly invite you to join us!”

According to German foreign ministry officials a growing number of German families, many of North African descent, have taken up the offer and travelled to Waziristan where supporters say converts make up some of the insurgents’ most dedicated fighters

The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, which has a foothold in several German cities, has capitalised on growing concern over the rising profile of German forces in Afghanistan.

Now it becomes clearer.  When the article mentions “white” jihadists, they don’t mean ethnic Germans or Swedes, they mean immigrants who had been given an opportunity for a good life in a Western country, but took what they could get (like military training as this article points out) and then have headed to the mountains to kill the infidels for Allah.

“The Europeans are there [in Waziristan]. The most dedicated people there are from Europe. They will do anything for Islam. They are not there because their father’s are Muslim, but by choice,” he (former Pakistani intelligence officer)said.

As I have pointed out previously in our extensive coverage of the Somali refugees who have left America to kill in Somalia, those strong healthy Somalis are alive and healthy thanks to the do-gooders who resettled them in the US.  We gave them food, shelter, a good education and have raised up Islamic militant warriors who would likely not have survived to adulthood if we had left them in Africa.   It just blows the whole theory that all Muslim immigrants want is a good life—a piece of the pie—and proves again something the Leftwing “humanitarians” are unwilling to grasp—Islam and Islamic supremacism is the driving force in their lives.

P.S.  We have resettled thousands of Uzbeks in the US.  It is unclear how many exactly because the State Department for many years lumped all former Soviet Union refugees together in their statistics.

Comprehensive Immigration reform, and warning to Tea Party grassroots folks

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Update September 27th:   Urrrgh!  Talk about timing!   Here is the Washington Post this morning with a piece suggesting that Dick Armey is the driving force behind the Tea Parties with Grover Norquist weighing in about how they need to be careful not to look like any one person is driving the movment.    This is what Norquist says:

Armey had a prominent speaking role at the Sept. 12 rally, but he said he much prefers “being in a smaller setting” talking about policy. He and his aides don’t want too much credit for organizing the event, either. “The press and the Obama guys — they keep looking for the guy who pushes the button behind the curtain,” said Grover Norquist, head of Americans for Tax Reform. “This really is a bottom-up operation. Everybody at the national level has been very careful. Because we support local activism, we shouldn’t pretend we created it.”

This time I agree with Norquist—this is bottom-up grassroots.  I came into DC with 400 people from Western Maryland and only a tiny fraction would know who Armey and Norquist are!  “Armey’s army,” my foot!   In fact, this article is scary because it shows the mainstream media working hard to demonstrate that Armey, and to a lesser extent Norquist, are the leaders.  (This is Alinsky’s Rule 13 on display!*)  They aren’t the leaders and when the average Tea Partier learns that both are supporting Open Borders any pretension to leadership will vanish.

My warning to Tea Party folks below (yesterday) is more important than ever now!

 

I’ve been sitting on a post for a few days that I wasn’t sure how to mention.  It involves Grover Norquist (Americans for Tax Reform), Dick Armey(Freedom Works), Tea Parties and Obama’s sure-to-come push for amnesty for illegal aliens.  Now, giving me a reason and as a lead in, see this AP interview published yesterday with a leader of the Open Borders movement—Thomas Saenz.

WASHINGTON — The head of the nation’s leading Latino legal advocacy group said if comprehensive immigration legislation seems unlikely in 2010, Congress should make down payments by passing smaller-scale reforms.

In an interview with The Associated Press Friday, Thomas Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), said he fully expects work on rewriting immigration law to begin in Congress next year.

But if Democratic leaders delay, because of elections and a hostile political climate for immigrants, Congress should take up the issue gradually and in smaller ways, Saenz said. Lawmakers could address the need for foreign agricultural workers, provide legal status to high school graduates brought to the country illegally as children, and create equity for same sex partners who want to come to the U.S. or get green cards.

Previously, immigration advocates have been reluctant to address immigration reform piecemeal to keep the various interest groups united on difficult issues, such as legalizing millions of people who are in the country illegally.

Saenz acknowledged that immigration reform is meeting fierce opposition. He also agreed that President Barack Obama may face a tougher road trying to tackle it than former President George W. Bush, whose conservative credentials made his stance on the issue more palatable to some. Obama is under pressure from Latinos to succeed, he said.

So, they expect immigration reform next year.  So, they are willing to try to get pieces in advance.  So, they didn’t do it in pieces before because they needed all the interest groups in a coalition; once one got what it wanted it would naturally go away thus diminishing the coalition.  And finally, so, they were helped in the past by the Open Borders friends of George Bush and aren’t sure they will have them this time. 

Enter Grover Norquist and Dick Armey who have insinuated themselves in the grassroots Tea Party Movement which I am betting is 90 percent against comprehensive immigration reform that would make citizenship available to millions who have entered the country illegally.

What follows is an old post from a website called 24Ahead which I had never heard of until a friend sent it the other day.   I don’t agree with most of what the blogger says (I hope he/she has rethought his criticism of Tea Partiers since last spring) because I’ve been involved with our local one from the beginning and know how spontaneously they sprang up and how independent they are.  And, until very recently most Tea Partiers didn’t even know about Norquist’s and Armey’s involvement—most still don’t!   My view is that long-time Washington, DC insiders, like Norquist and Armey, jumped on a grassroots bandwagon that was already moving. 

Here is what 24Ahead says with obvious disrespect for us Tea Party grassroots, but nonetheless he/she makes an important point about a too close alignment between the Tea Party Movement and Bush Open Borders advocates Norquist and Armey.

Dick Armey of Freedom Works, Grover Norquist, and the Kochtopus are all involved in the tea parties in one way or another. And, all of them support massive immigration and would probably support new amnesty plans. (For past support, see Norquist and Armey links at 24Ahead).

How exactly would that work out? Would those tea party backers try to convince the tea party base – which presumably is strongly opposed to amnesty – to give in? Would they play fun games, such as by trying to fool the obviously gullible supporters of the tea parties into supporting amnesty in some way? Would they try to keep their support for amnesty hidden from the useful idiots at the tea parties? Or, would they melt down and decide to go their own way? Would the tea partiers end up feeling the same way about the leaders behind the parties as they do of the leaders of the GOP?

That should be interesting to watch at least. And, it will also serve as a good learning experience for those who trust those who’ve promoted the parties.

I didn’t know about Dick Armey’s open borders position until I read this, but Norquist first came to our attention when he was promoting a bill two years ago to increase the number of Iraqis that would be admitted to the US.  I was frankly stunned that a so-called conservative concerned with taxes no less should be for increasing the American tax burden with more needy immigrants.  And, here he is recently attending a Washington DC insiders strategy meeting on how to legalize millions of illegals.

Note to the Tea Party Movement: You are a powerful grassroots force now and there will be people looking to bring you to their side on myriad issues. Maintain your independence from the Beltway insiders on both sides of the aisle and scrutinize very carefully the alliances you forge.

* The Obama Adminstration and obviously the mainstream media, like the WaPo, are masters of Saul Alinsky’s Rule 13.   Here is a post I wrote about Obama unsuccessfully attempting to employ Rule 13 against Rush Limbaugh back in January.   In the bible for community organizing, “Rules for Radicals,” Alinsky says to: “Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.”  If they can make Armey the leader of the Tea Party movement, it is only one tiny step to discrediting the whole movement as they discredit Armey himself.

Foreign Policy: The world’s fastest growing religions

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Reader BL directed us to this report from Foreign Policy magazine and some interesting statistics on world religions.  Although the report is two years old I think it is probably still useful, just figure the numbers are larger! 

From Muslims in Europe to evangelical Christians in Africa, it is religious believers who are shaping the early 21st Century. Charismatic movements are sweeping throughout the Southern Hemisphere, while high birth rates among immigrants are provoking soul-seeking in the historically Christian West. For this List, FP looks at the fast-growing faiths that are upending the old world order.

This is what FP says about Muslims whose religion is growing at the fastest rate:

Areas to watch: The world’s largest Muslim populations are in fast-growing countries such as Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Egypt, and Iran. Islam also happens to be the fastest growing religion in Europe, where an influx of Muslim immigrants from North Africa, Turkey, and South Asia has sent shock waves into a mostly Christian and secular population whose birthrates have stagnated. The “Muslim question” has empowered anti-immigrant parties in France, Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Germany, while sparking a fierce debate over the place of women in Islam and symbols of faith like the Muslim head scarf.

When contemplating political strategies I think one of the greatest miscalculations Far Left secularists and atheists make is underestimating that political strategy and maneuvering (ala Alinsky/Obama) only go so far before running into the great wall of religious zeal.  As we have reported many times on these pages, radical Leftists presently think they can incorporate Muslim demands in their list of chaos-producing open borders immigration platforms.

But, take for example these photos at Atlas Shrugs yesterday about the Muslim demonstration on Capitol Hill.  See any women?  They were reportedly there, just segregated.  So, at what point will Leftists realize that Islamic religious and cultural teaching is not part of the American ideal of freedom for all?  My answer is that not until it’s too late and our Muslim population is too large to stop.  Update:  See Robert Spencers account of the “prayer” demonstration on Capitol Hill, here.