Justins refugee headache

[valve37]

Will Canada have 25000 before end of the year. Better be cautious.

Germany imposes surprise curbs on Syrian refugees

Angela Merkel has performed an abrupt U-turn on her open-door policy towards people fleeing Syria’s civil war, with Berlin announcing that the hundreds of thousands of Syrians entering Germany would not be granted asylum or refugee status.

Syrians would still be allowed to enter Germany, but only for one year and with “subsidiary protection” which limits their rights as refugees. Family members would be barred from joining them.

Related: Germany receives nearly half of all Syrian asylum applicants

Germany, along with Sweden and Austria, has been the most open to taking in newcomers over the last six months of the growing refugee crisis, with the numbers entering Germany dwarfing those arriving anywhere else.

However, the interior minister, Thomas de Maiziere, announced that Berlin was starting to fall into line with governments elsewhere in the European Union, who were either erecting barriers to the newcomers or acting as transit countries and limiting their own intake of refugees.

“In this situation other countries are only guaranteeing a limited stay,” De Maiziere said. “We’ll now do the same with Syrians in the future. We’re telling them ‘you will get protection, but only so-called subsidiary protection that is limited to a period and without any family unification.’”

The major policy shift followed a crisis meeting of Merkel’s cabinet and coalition partners on Thursday. The chancellor won global plaudits in August when she suspended EU immigration rules to declare that any Syrians entering Germany would gain refugee status, though this stirred consternation among EU partners who were not forewarned of the move.

Thursday’s meeting decided against setting up “transit zones” for the processing of refugees on Germany’s borders with Austria, but agreed on prompt deportation of people whose asylum claims had failed.

Until now Syrians, Iraqis and Eritreans entering Germany have been virtually guaranteed full refugee status, meaning the right to stay for at least three years, entitlement for family members to join them, and generous welfare benefits.

Almost 40,000 Syrians were granted refugee status in Germany in August, according to the Berlin office responsible for the programme, with only 53 being given “subsidiary” status. That now appears to have ended abruptly.

An interior ministry spokesman told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: “The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees is instructed henceforth to grant Syrian civil war refugees only subsidiary protection.”

De Maiziere described the new regime as “a win for security and order for Germany”.

Related: Winter is coming: the new crisis for refugees in Europe

But the suddenness of the move by the country that has been pivotal in the EU’s biggest ever immigration crisis will ripple across the region with unknown consequences, particularly in the transit countries of the Balkans and central Europe through which hundreds of thousands have been trekking towards Germany.

The German curbs will encourage these countries to establish barriers of their own to the refugee wave. Merkel is also pressing countries such as Croatia, Slovenia, and Serbia to establish “reception centres” or camps where refugees can be processed and screened before they reach Germany. The countries are resisting because no one knows what to do with those who are screened and do not pass muster for passage to Germany.

Berlin is the most powerful advocate of sharing the refugee burden across the EU, but has also frustrated and angered several countries with a series of unilateral decisions that have had major knock-on effects across the union.

http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/germany-imposes-surprise-curbs-on-syrian-refugees/ar-CC2Bcm

[pierrelebel]

The next plane load is currently scheduled for tomorrow, December 15th.

[femmefan1946]

And 214 today to Toronto.

http://www.680news.com/2015/12/19/governor-general-welcomes-latest-batch-of-syrian-refugees-arriving...

Canada has done well from the Vietnamese refugees as well as the earlier Ugandan Asians.

[nuvistors]

The first thing a  refugee sees in Toronto is  gender segregated prayer rooms for men and women.

What does this show  them about  Canadian values and the equality of   men and women ?

[pierrelebel]

"The first thing a  refugee sees in Toronto is  gender segregated prayer rooms for men and women"

???

Where do "refugees" see that?

Are you assuming a specific religion?  We all know the meaning of "assume", don't we?

[gauge33]

Segregation is engrained in the religion.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_segregation_and_Muslims

[prior-of-verity*shake-hands-with-your-devil]

Ever been to a orthodox synagogue? If you want to condemn one.............condemn everyone!

[prior-of-verity*shake-hands-with-your-devil]

Please stop your hate mongering. 

[pierrelebel]

While the vast majority of Canadians shows compassion and welcomes other human beings (refugees of all religions from Syria and the area) into Canada, there is still that small minority of extreme right wing Reformists who did not get the message in the last election: the world had changed.

And the same is true with climate change.  There is a worldwide collective will to solve this long term problem.  Yes it will cost money.  But there is no real option. And the solutions we currently have are not perfect.  But denying there is a real problem will not solve it.  Once again, there is still that small minority of extreme right wing Reformists who did not get the message in the last election: the world had changed.

It is time to accept and welcome the changes.  There is no point in fighting them.  Be part of the solution, not the problem.

[prior-of-verity*shake-hands-with-your-devil]

I use the rabid dog concept. They can't be ignored. Certainly if they lived in a vast area all by themselves.....then who cares.....wander around enjoying their own venom. The problem is they infect others and spread their disease.

[gauge33]

8000 more in the next week to meet the 10000 revised 25000 promise. Ill conceived and thought out from day one. And then there is the Robin Hood middle class plan, 1.2 billion over budget. I guess the attack ads were correct, not ready for prime time. 

[prior-of-verity*shake-hands-with-your-devil]

 Understanding. Compassion. Love. Generosity. 

Try a new perspective Ebenezer. It will do your soul some good.

[gauge33]

Achieved 6,000, failure to deliver even 10,000 let alone 25,000 by the end of today!

Ill conceived and thought out from day one. And then there is the Robin Hood middle class plan, 1.2 billion over budget. I guess the attack ads were correct, not ready for prime time. 

[pierrelebel]

"failure to deliver even 10,000"

It is all a matter of perspective.

The 10,000 will in fact be welcomed into Canada by January 10th or 15th...  a few days late.

Not as good as planned but... much better for them than if the Conservatives had been re-elected.  They would still be in the Middle East wishing for a better and safer life.

[gauge33]

They would still be in the Middle East wishing for a better and safer life.

That's called remote viewing similar to if your grandmother had of had knockers she might have been your grandfather. You should go on Coast to Coast AM and do some more remote viewing, you'd be an instant hit!

A promise kept is a promise kept.

John Green: 'Some people don't understand the promises they're making when they make them and that's the case here.

[gauge33]

Justins headache just got bigger! Will he support Saudi like the other allies? Better leave our CF18s there and add more. The straight of Hormuz sits between the two countries where 40% of the worlds oil exits the middle east. It is a choke point. If closed oil could jump to record levels. We would then wish we had the Northern Gateway pipeline which Trudeau will not let be built even though it has gotten the green light to go ahead. This government is not equipped to handle a crisis like this, not ready for prime time.  

Iran-Saudi crisis 'most dangerous for decades

Relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran are at their worst for nearly 30 years.

Tensions have spiralled following the execution of Saudi cleric Nimr al-Nimr, the subsequent setting ablaze of the Saudi embassy in Tehran, and Riyadh's expulsion of Iranian diplomats.

The struggle between Riyadh and Tehran for political and religious influence has geopolitical implications that extend far beyond the placid waters of the Gulf and encompass nearly every major conflict zone in the Middle East.

Most notably, perhaps, the crisis means prospects for a diplomatic breakthrough in Syria and Yemen now look much more remote, just as international momentum for negotiations seemed to be on the verge of delivering results.

Years of turbulence

The current standoff is as dangerous as its 1980s predecessor, which first saw diplomatic ties suspended between 1988 and 1991.

This occurred at the end of the turbulent opening decade after the Iranian Revolution in 1979 and the grinding eight-year Iran-Iraq War from 1980 to 1988.

Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states backed Iraq's Saddam Hussein during the war and suffered Iranian attacks on their shipping, while in 1984 the Saudi air force shot down an Iranian fighter jet that it claimed had entered Saudi airspace.

Saudi and other Arab Gulf governments also linked Iran's post-revolutionary government with a rise in Shia militancy, an aborted coup in Bahrain in 1981, and a failed attempt to assassinate the emir of Kuwait four years later.

Meanwhile, the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah al-Hejaz was formed in May 1987 as a cleric-based organisation modelled on Lebanese Hezbollah intent on carrying out military operations inside Saudi Arabia.

Hezbollah al-Hejaz issued a number of inflammatory statements threatening the Saudi royal family and carried out several deadly attacks in the late 1980s as tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia rose sharply.

Deep distrust

While the current crisis lacks as yet equivalent instances of direct confrontation, tensions are as dangerous as in the 1980s for three reasons.

The first is the legacy of years of sectarian politics that have done so much to divide the Middle East along Sunni-Shia lines and foster an atmosphere of deep distrust between Iran and its neighbours across the Gulf.

In such a supercharged atmosphere, the moderate middle ground has been sorely weakened and advocates of a hardline approach to regional affairs now hold sway.

Second, the Gulf states have followed increasingly assertive foreign policies over the past four years, partly in response to what they see as perennial Iranian "meddling" in regional conflicts, and also because of growing scepticism about the Obama administration's intentions in the Middle East.

For many in the Gulf, the primary threat from Iran lies not in Tehran's nuclear programme but in Iran's support for militant non-state actors such as Hezbollah and, more recently, the Shia Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Both the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen and the multinational coalition against terrorism announced last month by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman show Saudi officials in no mood to compromise on regional security matters.

'Death knell'

Finally, the breakdown in diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran probably sounds the death-knell, at least for now, for regional efforts to end the wars in Yemen and Syria.

Lost in the furore over the execution of Nimr al-Nimr was an announcement that the fragile ceasefire agreed in Yemen on 15 December had broken down.

Neither the ceasefire nor the UN-brokered talks that started at the same time had made much headway, and while the UN talks were due to resume on 14 January that is unlikely if the Saudi-led coalition and Iran intensify their involvement in Yemen.

A similar outcome may now await the Syrian peace talks due to begin in Geneva in late January, as weeks of patient behind-the-scenes outreach to align the warring parties will come to nothing if the two most influential external parties to the conflict instead double down and dig in.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35219693

[prior-of-verity*shake-hands-with-your-devil]

Anyone heard of Harper lately? Not a peep out of him. He even snuck in back door of Parliament. His own faux-Conservative party is glad to see him go. However it seems that some of his past supporters (if any admit it) just can't let it go. There's not much that can be said to them except "mature and let him go".

The Middle East will continue to be the same area it always has been with constant 'tribal' troubles that date back centuries. Of course it didn't help that the 'west' constantly stuck their noses in the area and created the problems we see today. 

[gauge33]

Another foreign policy headache for Justin and minister Stephane Kyoto Protocall Dion. Recall he called his Dawg Kyotot! 

Maybe it's time to put a few bunker busters into Pyongyang's nuclear site and end the Korean war. 

North Korea says it has conducted its first 'successful' test of hydrogen bomb

After speculation of a "man-made" earthquake, North Korea has confirmed its first "successful" hydrogen bomb test. The announcement will fuel fears over Pyongyang's efforts to build a warhead capable of reaching the US.

A North Korean newsreader announced the test in a state television broadcast on Wednesday, hours after several monitoring agencies detected a 5.1 magnitude tremor close to the Punggye-ri site where nuclear tests have been held in the past.

"The republic's first hydrogen bomb test has been successfully performed at 10:00 a.m. on January 6, 2016, based on the strategic determination of the Workers' Party," the newsreader said.

http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/north-korea-says-it-has-conducted-its-first-successful-test-of-h...

[prior-of-verity*shake-hands-with-your-devil]

Yeah and thousands of innocent people would die and China would be really 'ticked' off. Another brilliant idea from elite, safe, comfy west ridge.

[gauge33]

Headache for Justin and McCallum getting bigger as some refugees want to go back home.

Syrians feel 'hopeless' as government-sponsored refugees in Toronto, mother says Volunteers worry about 2-tier system as some newcomers face isolation in Canada

Some government-sponsored Syrian refugees staying at a budget hotel in Toronto say they feel like they're "trapped in a prison" without hope due to a lack of communication, supplies and assistance.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/programs/metromorning/syrian-refugees-hotel-toronto-1.3418220 

[pierrelebel]

Life is funny sometimes.

Those reform/conservatives who have not yet accepted defeat in the last election (68% of Canadians voted to get rid of their government) now rely on CBC of all places to try to make a point.  The same CBC they claimed was infested with leftists.

And life does go on..... for most of us in any case.