In an interview with Sky News, the American actress condemned what she called the failure of the international community to intervene effectively in recent crises in the Middle East and Nigeria.
[…..]
Asked by Sky News presenter Anna Jones if Britain and other countries should take in more refugees, Jolie replied: “Yes.”
But she added that the international community’s current approach to such a crisis is “broken”.
[…..]
Her call for action has been welcomed by The Refugee Council – a UK charity that works with refugees.
[…..]
Jolie lamented what she called the increasing inability of the international community to solve crises like the recent kidnapping of 200 Nigerian schoolgirls by extremist group Boko Haram.
However, she admitted she could offer no immediate solution herself.
“I do lie awake at night like most people wondering… I cannot get my head around all of the horrors in the world today,” she said.
Are you laying awake at night troubled by the world? It seems clear to me…..
…. for the Syrian civil war—let them fight it out themselves and then the Syrians who ran for cover should return. Then there is only one solution for Islamic terrorist groups like Boko Haram, wipe them out swiftly and completely, but no African or Western country has the testicular fortitude to do it.
The Lutheran church has all the right in the world to lobby Congress for whatever it wants, but what is so infuriating about this news release is that we know that US taxpayers foot almost the entire budget of the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (LIRS) and thus we pay for their “advocacy.”
LIRS headquarters near Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. They need taxpayer $$$ to keep it all going!
Here is what we reported a year ago when LIRS was lobbying for the Gang of Eight amnesty bill. LIRS budget:
Have a look at a recent Form 990 for Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services, page 9. They had income in that year of $31,653,748 and, of that, you, the taxpayers of America, gave them $30,376,568. Their CEO makes $204,186 in salary and benefits. Where is the ACLU? No separation of church and state here! The church is the state!
Here (and below) is their entire press release yesterday (emphasis is mine).
I find it unspeakably shameful that they should use your tax dollars and the refugees themselves to lobby the federal government for more money and more refugees (LIRS is paid by the head for each refugee they resettle).
What happened to private Christian charity?
World Refugee Day Academy to be Held in Baltimore Event will convene over 50 former refugees
BALTIMORE, May 23, 2014 /NEWS.GNOM.ES/ – As part of its 75th anniversary celebration, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) will host World Refugee Day Academy, a three-day event for former refugees focusing on building advocacy, community organizing, and leadership skills. The event will take place June 18-20, 2014 in Baltimore and Washington, DC.
Fifty-one participants, including two training facilitators who are also former refugees, were selected from a pool of applicants with demonstrated leadership experience, strong ties to their local communities, and a desire to mobilize in support of pro-refugee policy. The participants hail from 27 different states and represent 18 nationalities of origin. Each individual’s inspiring story of overcoming hardship to become a community leader illustrates the courage and perseverance of former refugees. The Academy schedule is as follows:
~Wednesday, June 18th: Academy participants will take part in advocacy training on issues impacting refugee communities and will prepare for visits with elected officials on Capitol Hill.
~Thursday, June 19th: Participants will travel to Washington, DC to meet with Senators, members of the House and their staffers in an effort to share their personal stories in support of pro-refugee legislation.
~Friday, June 20th: Agenda will focus on developing essential skills for community organizing and leadership. Participants will work together to plan year-long initiatives for their local communities. After they return home, the network of World Refugee Day Academy participants will serve as a support system and resource for the work of each leader in his or her community.
For more information about LIRS or World Refugee Day Academy, please contact Folabi Olagbaju at 202-626-7931. Media interested in attending Capitol Hill meetings on June 19th may contact Miji Bell, 410-230-2841.
Founded in 1939, LIRS is nationally recognized for advocating for and with refugees, asylum seekers, unaccompanied children, immigrants in detention, families fractured by migration and other vulnerable populations, and for serving migrants through 60 grassroots legal and social service partners across the United States. Celebrating 75 years of service and advocacy this year, LIRS has helped more than 500,000 migrants and refugees rebuild their lives in America.
Press Contact: Miji Bell
410-230-2841, mbell@lirs.org
There are a few things you can do:
If you are a Lutheran and think this stinks, let church leaders know. Tell LIRS too what you think. Then tell your elected officials how you feel and ask for oversight hearings to begin to reform this out-of-control federally-funded program.
To counter LIRS propaganda campaign, it is even more important for you to send comments to the US State Department by May 29thand send those comments to your elected officials in Washington next week and throughout early June.
This is your typical Leftist ploy—start spreading a number around (like 20,000) and then 5,000 will sound like a reasonable compromise to the gullible!
NDP leader Thomas Mulcair has some explaining to do. http://www.torontosun.com/2014/05/13/ndp-fails-to-explain-parliamentary-money-spent-on-party-employees-2
OTTAWA — The New Democrats and Liberals are pushing the federal government to swing open the doors and let in tens of thousands of Syrian refugees to Canada.
The Commons foreign affairs committee released a new report Friday with 14 recommendations for Canada’s response to the ongoing Syria crisis, including a call the Conservative government to “examine” its commitment to take in 1,300 Syrian refugees by the end of the year.
However, the two main opposition parties say Canada should go a lot further.
“The Government of Canada should significantly increase its commitment to Syrian refugee resettlement beyond the current pledge of up to 1,300, accelerate processing of Syrian refugees coming to Canada, and expedite family reunification for Syrian refugees who have relatives in Canada,” said the NDP in its comments.
The Liberals went even further in their supplementary report, quoting one witness who said “20,000 is very reasonable” as the total number of Syrian refugees that Canada could accept.
A report in March, here, says Canada had only taken 10 (ten) Syrians at that point. Like the US, something is holding up the flow—-is it because of security concerns? Most of the “refugees” are Muslims.
Interesting! Is the NDP Party trying to divert attention away from its own problems, here. They must be following the Obama play book—when scandals emerge, change the subject!
Addendum: This is our 132nd post in our Canada category, here.
This is just one of those warm and fuzzy articles we find ourselves needing to ‘balance.’ It is all about how Syracuse, NY has become a primary resettlement site. In fact, it is officially a “preferred resettlement site” according to the feds.
Puff pieces like this usually run when there is trouble afoot. News outlets work with the resettlement agency to get ‘news’ like this out—it is meant to make any complaining citizens feel like they are in the minority and force them to shut up. In other words, if you aren’t “welcoming” you are mean-spirited and surely a racist boob!
Helen Malina, refugee contractor: We are a welcoming city!
The article is here at Time Warner Cable News (CNY’s refugee community thrives as global refugee numbers climb):
But when a refugee is finally cleared, the highest number end up in the United States, and Syracuse has emerged as a prime city for resettlement.
Experts say that’s because of New York State’s robust public assistance programsand a combination of Syracuse’s relatively low cost of living and inviting community.
“We really are a welcoming city and I think most of the communities that have been resettled here have been well integrated into the Syracuse community family,” said Malina. [Helen Malina head of the local contractor—ed]
Out of the approximately 70,000 refugees that come to the United States every year, Central New York receives about 1,200 of them. About half of those are helped by the InterFaith Works Center for New Americans. The center helps refugees find homes and jobs, learn English and adjust to American society. However, the transition can be a difficult one….
Read it all if you feel like it.
Here is one story about the generosity of the taxpayers of New York and this Interfaith gang. A new Iraqi refugee came with hypertension. He had emergency heart surgery and spent the next six weeks comatose and in intensive care while others cared for his wife and kids. Imagine what that must have cost the generous citizens of Syracuse and New York state!
RRW owes a lot to Church World Service because it was they and their subcontractor—Virginia Council of Churches—thatfirst introduced us to the programwhen they tried and failed to get a foot-hold and establish a resettlement office in our rural Maryland County. There would never have been an RRW without their ham-handed Hagerstown adventure.
Check out our archive on Syracuse which recently made the news because a Catholic Church was turned into mosque and it became a major controversy there. Looking back I see refugees demonstrated against “racism” in Syracuse a few years ago. No mention of any of that in this warm and fuzzy piece.
The Refugee Council USAis the lobbying arm for the refugee contractors who might have to protect their non-profit status and their lucrative contracts from charges that they are lobbying Congress for themselves. News hat tip: Joanne.
Erol Kekic, a former Bosnian refugee employed by Church World Service, is the present director of the RCUSA, the contractors’ lobbying arm. http://lancasteronline.com/lifestyle/faith_and_values/refugee-resettlement-banquet-sept/article_3cce1f6f-ae59-5fb3-adc8-e727c17ad728.html?mode=jqm
If you were thinking ‘why bother’ sending comments to the US State Department and to your US Senators and Members of Congress for the fiscal year 2015 refugee plans (here), please, think again in light of the the fact that the “advocates” are really ginning-up this year for a big push!
I believe they have figured out that “pockets of resistance” are forming in cities and towns across America and they must now push Congress harder for what they want!
Before we give you their latest “advocacy” campaign for the week of June 2-6 in advance of World Refugee Day (June 20th), here are the members of RCUSA (the nine major federal contractors are in red, they get almost all of their funding from US taxpayers!):
As we mark World Refugee Day on June 20, we invite you to join us in celebrating refugees’ courage in overcoming adversity and the many gifts they bring to our communities across the United States.
Together we can raise awareness about the need for improved policies and services to help refugees rebuild their lives in the United States. This year, we have designated June 2-6 as National Refugee Advocacy Week. Here are some actions you can take to help refugees in your community that week.
~Invite a policymaker to a World Refugee Day event in your area.
~Organize an in-district meeting with your members of Congress. Your Senators and Representatives will be in their local offices June 2-6, making it a great opportunity to meet with them to discuss important refugee policy and funding issues. Introduce them to a refugee!
~Call Congress to support refugee funding and legislation – and get others to join you
~Write a letter to your members of Congress encouraging support for refugees
For resources on how to carry out these advocacy action items and more advocacy ideas and tips, check out the Refugee Council USA’s 2014 World Refugee Day Advocacy Toolkit.
The toolkit is a great resource for you too! Learn about the bills they are promoting and the committees they are aiming their lobbying toward.
One of the Leftists’ favorite techniques is to tell “stories” (sweet stories only of course) about refugees. I’m thinking ‘what the heck!’ that is what we (at RRW) do too—tell stories about the programs problems and its cost, and the not-so-sweet stories (crimes, national security, cultural clashes) about refugees as well.
Aim our “advocacy” for restraint for the week of May 26-30!
So since they are aiming to bombard Congress for more money and more refugees during the Week of June 2-6, let’s aim our advocacy for the week of May 26-30 (especially as the State Department comment period ends May 29th). Since RCUSA has lobbyists and money (some of it yours!) they will surely outnumber our comments and phone calls, but let’s at least muddy the waters for members of Congress!
Check out our Ten Reasons for a Moratorium on Refugee Resettlement, here. We will be sending those to the US State Department, to Members of Congress and the Senate (especially to members of the key committees)!
