Rejection rate on the rise for Canadians at U.S. border
The growing number of stories about Canadians turned away at the American border is more than just an anecdotal trend: Statistics show the United States is turning away visitors from Canada at an increasing rate.
More...
https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/news/n ... ice=mobile
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Muhammad Ali's son says he was detained again at airport
Muhammad Ali Jr. was detained and questioned at a Washington airport before being allowed to board a flight to Fort Lauderdale after meeting with lawmakers to discuss a separate airport detention incident last month, a lawyer for the late heavyweight champion's son said Friday.
More..
http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/muh ... ailsignout
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Federal judge declines to halt revised Trump travel ban
A U.S. federal court on Friday refused to put an emergency halt to Republican President Donald Trump's revised travel ban, saying lawyers from states opposed to the measure needed to file more extensive court papers.
More..
http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/politics/ ... ailsignout
[/b]
TRUMP AND ISLAM
Several states jointly sue to block Trump's revised travel ban
A group of states renewed their effort on Monday to block President Donald Trump's revised temporary ban on refugees and travelers from several Muslim-majority countries, arguing that his executive order is the same as the first one that was halted by federal courts.
Court papers filed by the state of Washington and joined by California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York and Oregon asked a judge to stop the March 6 order from taking effect on Thursday.
An amended complaint said the order was similar to the original Jan. 27 directive because it "will cause severe and immediate harms to the States, including our residents, our colleges and universities, our healthcare providers, and our businesses."
More...
http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/politics/ ... ailsignout
A group of states renewed their effort on Monday to block President Donald Trump's revised temporary ban on refugees and travelers from several Muslim-majority countries, arguing that his executive order is the same as the first one that was halted by federal courts.
Court papers filed by the state of Washington and joined by California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York and Oregon asked a judge to stop the March 6 order from taking effect on Thursday.
An amended complaint said the order was similar to the original Jan. 27 directive because it "will cause severe and immediate harms to the States, including our residents, our colleges and universities, our healthcare providers, and our businesses."
More...
http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/politics/ ... ailsignout
Federal judge in Hawaii freezes President Trump’s new executive order
A federal judge in Hawaii has frozen President Trump’s new executive order temporarily barring the issuance of new visas to citizens of six-Muslim majority countries and suspending the admission of new refugees.
U.S. District Judge Derrick K. Watson froze the order nationwide.
More...
http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/fed ... ailsignout
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Because You’re Not Fooling Anyone: Why Trump Travel Ban 2.0 Still Unconstitutional
Trump’s second attempt at banning travel from certain Muslim-majority countries is clearly written to avoid being struck down under the Establishment Clause. Most notably, it no longer contains provisions that preference entry for religious minorities—language the President himself admitted was intended to prioritize entry for Christian rather than Muslim refugees.
So why isn’t the new EO constitutional, at least with regard to First Amendment claims? Because cutting its most obviously discriminatory provision doesn’t fix the fact that the new EO was passed with the same invalid purpose as the President’s first attempt—to reduce Muslim immigration into the U.S. When a candidate campaigns for nearly two years on the promise of banning, profiling, and even registering Muslims, that is context that a court can—and should—consider in evaluating whether his actions are motivated by religious animus or legitimate security concerns.
More...
http://religiondispatches.org/because-y ... 2-84570085
A federal judge in Hawaii has frozen President Trump’s new executive order temporarily barring the issuance of new visas to citizens of six-Muslim majority countries and suspending the admission of new refugees.
U.S. District Judge Derrick K. Watson froze the order nationwide.
More...
http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/fed ... ailsignout
******
Because You’re Not Fooling Anyone: Why Trump Travel Ban 2.0 Still Unconstitutional
Trump’s second attempt at banning travel from certain Muslim-majority countries is clearly written to avoid being struck down under the Establishment Clause. Most notably, it no longer contains provisions that preference entry for religious minorities—language the President himself admitted was intended to prioritize entry for Christian rather than Muslim refugees.
So why isn’t the new EO constitutional, at least with regard to First Amendment claims? Because cutting its most obviously discriminatory provision doesn’t fix the fact that the new EO was passed with the same invalid purpose as the President’s first attempt—to reduce Muslim immigration into the U.S. When a candidate campaigns for nearly two years on the promise of banning, profiling, and even registering Muslims, that is context that a court can—and should—consider in evaluating whether his actions are motivated by religious animus or legitimate security concerns.
More...
http://religiondispatches.org/because-y ... 2-84570085
Trump immigration policies kill work visas for specialized Canadian nurses
Advanced practice nurses and nurse anesthetists told they no longer qualify for professional visas
Canadian nurses working at Michigan hospitals were shocked last week when border security officers stopped them from entering the U.S. because of changes to their working visas under new immigration policies.
Staff at Detroit's Henry Ford Hospital heard reports of nurses unable to renew their working visas. Last week, a new Canadian hire at Henry Ford tried to go to work, but was turned away at the Windsor-Detroit border.
■Trump's border ban kills access to FAST lanes for Windsor truck driver
■Canadians working in U.S. under NAFTA exemption worry about future under Trump
She was told advanced practice nurses and nurse anesthetists no longer qualify for the working visas because of policy changes under U.S. President Donald Trump.
More...
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/c ... -1.4026554[/b]
Advanced practice nurses and nurse anesthetists told they no longer qualify for professional visas
Canadian nurses working at Michigan hospitals were shocked last week when border security officers stopped them from entering the U.S. because of changes to their working visas under new immigration policies.
Staff at Detroit's Henry Ford Hospital heard reports of nurses unable to renew their working visas. Last week, a new Canadian hire at Henry Ford tried to go to work, but was turned away at the Windsor-Detroit border.
■Trump's border ban kills access to FAST lanes for Windsor truck driver
■Canadians working in U.S. under NAFTA exemption worry about future under Trump
She was told advanced practice nurses and nurse anesthetists no longer qualify for the working visas because of policy changes under U.S. President Donald Trump.
More...
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/c ... -1.4026554[/b]
Travel Ban Dampens Persian New Year Celebration
Extract:
"For hundreds of Iranian-Americans in Southern California, who traditionally travel back and forth to be with family for Nowruz, long-held plans and family gatherings have been disrupted because of uncertainty over the ban. Weddings that were scheduled around the holiday have been postponed, and elderly relatives are fearful they will never see their grandchildren again.
For many members of the diaspora, this is the first time since arriving in the United States after the Iranian revolution of 1979 that they feel that they cannot risk leaving the country for fear they will not be allowed to return."
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/19/us/t ... .html?_r=0
Extract:
"For hundreds of Iranian-Americans in Southern California, who traditionally travel back and forth to be with family for Nowruz, long-held plans and family gatherings have been disrupted because of uncertainty over the ban. Weddings that were scheduled around the holiday have been postponed, and elderly relatives are fearful they will never see their grandchildren again.
For many members of the diaspora, this is the first time since arriving in the United States after the Iranian revolution of 1979 that they feel that they cannot risk leaving the country for fear they will not be allowed to return."
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/19/us/t ... .html?_r=0
Devices Banned on Flights From 10 Countries Over ISIS Fears
WASHINGTON — Intelligence showing that the Islamic State is developing a bomb hidden in portable electronics spurred the United States and Britain on Tuesday to bar passengers from airports in a total of 10 Muslim-majority countries from carrying laptop computers, iPads and other devices larger than a cellphone aboard direct inbound flights, two senior American counterterrorism officials said.
Two additional American officials said the explosives were designed to be hidden in laptop batteries. All four spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to publicly discuss the sensitive information.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/21/us/p ... 87722&_r=0
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No African citizens granted visas for African trade summit in California
Every single African citizen who requested a visa was rejected, according to the organizer of the African Global Economic and Development Summit
An annual African trade summit in California had no African attendees this year after at least 60 people were denied visas, according to event leaders.
The African Global Economic and Development Summit, a three-day conference at the University of Southern California (USC), typically brings delegations from across Africa to meet with business leaders in the US in an effort to foster partnerships. But this year, every single African citizen who requested a visa was rejected, according to organizer Mary Flowers.
Some are now questioning whether the denials to the Los Angeles event could be tied to the anti-immigration policies of Donald Trump, who is pushing forward with a travel ban against six Muslim-majority countries despite ongoing legal challenges.
More...
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... ade-summit
WASHINGTON — Intelligence showing that the Islamic State is developing a bomb hidden in portable electronics spurred the United States and Britain on Tuesday to bar passengers from airports in a total of 10 Muslim-majority countries from carrying laptop computers, iPads and other devices larger than a cellphone aboard direct inbound flights, two senior American counterterrorism officials said.
Two additional American officials said the explosives were designed to be hidden in laptop batteries. All four spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to publicly discuss the sensitive information.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/21/us/p ... 87722&_r=0
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No African citizens granted visas for African trade summit in California
Every single African citizen who requested a visa was rejected, according to the organizer of the African Global Economic and Development Summit
An annual African trade summit in California had no African attendees this year after at least 60 people were denied visas, according to event leaders.
The African Global Economic and Development Summit, a three-day conference at the University of Southern California (USC), typically brings delegations from across Africa to meet with business leaders in the US in an effort to foster partnerships. But this year, every single African citizen who requested a visa was rejected, according to organizer Mary Flowers.
Some are now questioning whether the denials to the Los Angeles event could be tied to the anti-immigration policies of Donald Trump, who is pushing forward with a travel ban against six Muslim-majority countries despite ongoing legal challenges.
More...
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... ade-summit
Trump’s Muslim Ban and the History of Stolen Citizenship in America
Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration, now in its second iteration, deserves its shorthand designation: the Muslim Ban. And this new administration’s slapdash effort to ban travel from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen—currently blocked by federal judges in Hawai’i and Maryland—serves as a striking reminder of how precarious citizenship is.
Green card holders have traditionally been extended the full courtesy of citizenship for entry into the United States. In January, they were robbed of that privilege without any warning. Normally, we would argue that we have to be on guard for this happening to naturalized citizens. Unfortunately, we do not have time to wait when citizens of the United States are barred from entering their own country by their own government.
As historians of South Asian America, we know that having your citizenship stripped because of the color of your skin is not unusual in our history. The United States has a long history of racism being encoded into law, and manifesting in law, on a regular basis. The story of internment of Americans of Japanese descent is perhaps the one that is most recent in our collective memory, partly because of George Takei’s tireless work to keep those stories alive.
More...
http://religiondispatches.org/trumps-mu ... 0-84570085
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Trump Administration Orders Tougher Screening of Visa Applicants
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is making it tougher for millions of visitors to enter the United States by demanding new security checks before giving visas to tourists, business travelers and relatives of American residents.
Diplomatic cables sent last week from Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson to all American embassies instructed consular officials to broadly increase scrutiny. It was the first evidence of the “extreme vetting” Mr. Trump promised during the presidential campaign.
The new rules generally do not apply to citizens of 38 countries — including most of Europe and longstanding allies like Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea — who can be speedily admitted into the United States under the visa waiver program. That program does not cover citizens from any country in the Middle East or Africa.
Even stricter security checks for people from six predominantly Muslim nations remain on hold because federal courts have temporarily blocked President Trump’s travel ban.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/23/us/p ... d=45305309
Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration, now in its second iteration, deserves its shorthand designation: the Muslim Ban. And this new administration’s slapdash effort to ban travel from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen—currently blocked by federal judges in Hawai’i and Maryland—serves as a striking reminder of how precarious citizenship is.
Green card holders have traditionally been extended the full courtesy of citizenship for entry into the United States. In January, they were robbed of that privilege without any warning. Normally, we would argue that we have to be on guard for this happening to naturalized citizens. Unfortunately, we do not have time to wait when citizens of the United States are barred from entering their own country by their own government.
As historians of South Asian America, we know that having your citizenship stripped because of the color of your skin is not unusual in our history. The United States has a long history of racism being encoded into law, and manifesting in law, on a regular basis. The story of internment of Americans of Japanese descent is perhaps the one that is most recent in our collective memory, partly because of George Takei’s tireless work to keep those stories alive.
More...
http://religiondispatches.org/trumps-mu ... 0-84570085
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Trump Administration Orders Tougher Screening of Visa Applicants
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is making it tougher for millions of visitors to enter the United States by demanding new security checks before giving visas to tourists, business travelers and relatives of American residents.
Diplomatic cables sent last week from Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson to all American embassies instructed consular officials to broadly increase scrutiny. It was the first evidence of the “extreme vetting” Mr. Trump promised during the presidential campaign.
The new rules generally do not apply to citizens of 38 countries — including most of Europe and longstanding allies like Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea — who can be speedily admitted into the United States under the visa waiver program. That program does not cover citizens from any country in the Middle East or Africa.
Even stricter security checks for people from six predominantly Muslim nations remain on hold because federal courts have temporarily blocked President Trump’s travel ban.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/23/us/p ... d=45305309
Toronto Schools Ban Trips to U.S. Over Travel Ban
Canada’s largest school system has suspended student and staff trips to the United States until further notice due to the “uncertainty” surrounding President Donald Trump’s proposed travel ban.
The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) announced on Thursday that it would allow 24 pre-approved trips to the United States to proceed, but that no further trips would be booked.
“We do not make this decision lightly, but given the uncertainty of these new travel restrictions and when they may come into effect, if at all, we strongly believe that our students should not be placed into these situations of potentially being turned away at the border,” said the statement by John Malloy, the TDSB director of education.
http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/to ... ailsignout
Canada’s largest school system has suspended student and staff trips to the United States until further notice due to the “uncertainty” surrounding President Donald Trump’s proposed travel ban.
The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) announced on Thursday that it would allow 24 pre-approved trips to the United States to proceed, but that no further trips would be booked.
“We do not make this decision lightly, but given the uncertainty of these new travel restrictions and when they may come into effect, if at all, we strongly believe that our students should not be placed into these situations of potentially being turned away at the border,” said the statement by John Malloy, the TDSB director of education.
http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/to ... ailsignout
Judge rules in favor of Trump’s travel ban
The chances of President Donald Trump’s travel ban going before the Supreme Court increased Friday when a U.S. federal judge in Virginia ruled that the executive order was justified.
The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Anthony Trenga contradicted those made by federal judges in Hawaii and Maryland earlier this month, although the order remains halted.
More...
http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/jud ... ailsignout
The chances of President Donald Trump’s travel ban going before the Supreme Court increased Friday when a U.S. federal judge in Virginia ruled that the executive order was justified.
The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Anthony Trenga contradicted those made by federal judges in Hawaii and Maryland earlier this month, although the order remains halted.
More...
http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/jud ... ailsignout
Workshop on Citizenship, Islam, and Identity
Sponsored by the Centre for the Comparative Study of Muslim Societies and Cultures (SFU) and the Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations (Aga Khan University, UK)
With the generous support of the SFU International Engagement Fund.
Saturday, May 6, 2017
10:45-17:30
Earl and Jennie Lohn Policy Room (7th floor)
Simon Fraser University at Harbour Centre
515 West Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC
The public is invited, but reservations are encouraged.
For reservations, email ccsmsc@sfu.ca or www.eventbrite.ca
Workshop participants:
Zahra Jamal, “Being and Becoming Muslim in Trump’s America.” Dr. Jamal is Associate Director of the Boniuk Institute for Religious Tolerance at Rice University. Her research interests include citizenship, civic engagement, gender, and human rights in Muslim communities. She is in the process of completing a book on “Work No Words”: Voluntarism and Piety among South Asian Ismaili Muslims. She has consulted for an array of international organizations.
http://www.sfu.ca/ccsmsc/events/co-spon ... nship.html
Sponsored by the Centre for the Comparative Study of Muslim Societies and Cultures (SFU) and the Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations (Aga Khan University, UK)
With the generous support of the SFU International Engagement Fund.
Saturday, May 6, 2017
10:45-17:30
Earl and Jennie Lohn Policy Room (7th floor)
Simon Fraser University at Harbour Centre
515 West Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC
The public is invited, but reservations are encouraged.
For reservations, email ccsmsc@sfu.ca or www.eventbrite.ca
Workshop participants:
Zahra Jamal, “Being and Becoming Muslim in Trump’s America.” Dr. Jamal is Associate Director of the Boniuk Institute for Religious Tolerance at Rice University. Her research interests include citizenship, civic engagement, gender, and human rights in Muslim communities. She is in the process of completing a book on “Work No Words”: Voluntarism and Piety among South Asian Ismaili Muslims. She has consulted for an array of international organizations.
http://www.sfu.ca/ccsmsc/events/co-spon ... nship.html
TRUMP’S FEAR AND LOATHING WON’T SILENCE THE NATION’S SOLE LGBT MUSLIM ORGANIZATION
In the days of the Trumpian order, American LGBT Muslims, a minority within minorities, find themselves especially vulnerable to the forces of racism, homophobia, and Islamophobia. As a member of this minority community myself, I can say that the burgeoning manifestations of these forms of hatred—from threats of lynching to incinerated Pride flags to vandalized mosques—have increased our anxiety about our future in American society. One minority advocacy group, however, is challenging the bigotry head on.
More...
http://religiondispatches.org/trumps-fe ... 6-84570085
In the days of the Trumpian order, American LGBT Muslims, a minority within minorities, find themselves especially vulnerable to the forces of racism, homophobia, and Islamophobia. As a member of this minority community myself, I can say that the burgeoning manifestations of these forms of hatred—from threats of lynching to incinerated Pride flags to vandalized mosques—have increased our anxiety about our future in American society. One minority advocacy group, however, is challenging the bigotry head on.
More...
http://religiondispatches.org/trumps-fe ... 6-84570085
President Trump Tries to Engage the Muslim World
No American president in modern times has disparaged Islam as much as Donald Trump. From the attempted visa ban on Muslim-majority countries to his campaign claims that “Islam hates us” to his Islamaphobic advisers, the president’s record of hostility is well documented.
So his first overseas trip as president is something of a paradox, with a first stop in Saudi Arabia — a major force in the Sunni Arab world —- that includes meetings with members of the royal family, a summit meeting with other Arab leaders and a major speech on Sunday.
Does that mean Mr. Trump has changed his stripes? Given his casual approach to the truth and his malleable belief system, it’s impossible to know his true views on Islam. What we do know is that he needs all the help he can get from Muslim countries to fight the Islamic State. If he uses the speech and the trip to set a new tone with the Muslim world, that would be greatly in America’s interest.
More..
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/19/opin ... inion&_r=0
No American president in modern times has disparaged Islam as much as Donald Trump. From the attempted visa ban on Muslim-majority countries to his campaign claims that “Islam hates us” to his Islamaphobic advisers, the president’s record of hostility is well documented.
So his first overseas trip as president is something of a paradox, with a first stop in Saudi Arabia — a major force in the Sunni Arab world —- that includes meetings with members of the royal family, a summit meeting with other Arab leaders and a major speech on Sunday.
Does that mean Mr. Trump has changed his stripes? Given his casual approach to the truth and his malleable belief system, it’s impossible to know his true views on Islam. What we do know is that he needs all the help he can get from Muslim countries to fight the Islamic State. If he uses the speech and the trip to set a new tone with the Muslim world, that would be greatly in America’s interest.
More..
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/19/opin ... inion&_r=0
‘This Wasn’t a Speech About Islam’
Two of our opinion writers, Mustafa Akyol in Istanbul and Wajahat Ali in the Washington, D.C. area, watched President Trump’s speech in Saudi Arabia this morning and discussed what they thought it means for the Middle East, American foreign policy and Muslims around the world.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/21/opin ... inion&_r=0
Two of our opinion writers, Mustafa Akyol in Istanbul and Wajahat Ali in the Washington, D.C. area, watched President Trump’s speech in Saudi Arabia this morning and discussed what they thought it means for the Middle East, American foreign policy and Muslims around the world.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/21/opin ... inion&_r=0
Donald Trump and Islam: Learning new tricks
Where Candidate Trump taunted the Saudis, President Trump embraced them on the first foreign trip of his term. No doubt delighting his Sunni hosts, Mr Trump blamed Iran, a mainly Shia country, for most of the Middle East’s woes in a speech yesterday. The Kingdom must have a short memory: Mr Trump’s appeal to “drive out” extremism seemed to go down well. Perhaps it helped that he did not bring up his host’s human-rights record
More...
http://www.economist.com/news/middle-ea ... lydispatch
Where Candidate Trump taunted the Saudis, President Trump embraced them on the first foreign trip of his term. No doubt delighting his Sunni hosts, Mr Trump blamed Iran, a mainly Shia country, for most of the Middle East’s woes in a speech yesterday. The Kingdom must have a short memory: Mr Trump’s appeal to “drive out” extremism seemed to go down well. Perhaps it helped that he did not bring up his host’s human-rights record
More...
http://www.economist.com/news/middle-ea ... lydispatch
Appeals court upholds injunction blocking Trump's travel ban
A Richmond, Va.-based federal appeals court on Thursday refused to reinstate President Trump’s ban on nationals from six majority-Muslim countries from entering the U.S., delivering a major blow to the Trump administration.
The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals said in a 10-3 ruling that Trump’s executive order "speaks with vague words of national security, but in context drips with religious intolerance, animus and discrimination."
In delivering the opinion of the court, Judge Roger Gregory wrote that Congress granted the president broad power to deny entry to aliens, but that power is not absolute. “It cannot go unchecked when, as here, the President wields it through an executive edict that stands to cause irreparable harm to individuals across this nation,” he wrote.
In addition to being discriminatory, the court found that the order would delay and disrupt pending visa applications.
More...
http://thehill.com/policy/national-secu ... 1495735527
A Richmond, Va.-based federal appeals court on Thursday refused to reinstate President Trump’s ban on nationals from six majority-Muslim countries from entering the U.S., delivering a major blow to the Trump administration.
The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals said in a 10-3 ruling that Trump’s executive order "speaks with vague words of national security, but in context drips with religious intolerance, animus and discrimination."
In delivering the opinion of the court, Judge Roger Gregory wrote that Congress granted the president broad power to deny entry to aliens, but that power is not absolute. “It cannot go unchecked when, as here, the President wields it through an executive edict that stands to cause irreparable harm to individuals across this nation,” he wrote.
In addition to being discriminatory, the court found that the order would delay and disrupt pending visa applications.
More...
http://thehill.com/policy/national-secu ... 1495735527
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.
*******
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
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.
*******
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
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.
More...
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