BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE
REACHED FOR COMMENT BY THESE REPORTERS, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMODEL JAY CARNEY SAID BARRY O HAD PLENTY OF OTHER OPPORTUNITIES, "MAYBE HE'LL KEEP 'THINKING AHEAD' AND GO TO UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX OR MAYBE HE'LL BE 'ON HIS WAY' AND SPEAK AT DEVRY."
FROM THE TCI WIRE:
With Iraq, the temptation for some news outlets is to make 'good news.'
You can't manufacture good news and you look ridiculous when you try -- and if
you're a US official trying to manufacture good news, your latest wave of
Operation Happy Talk usually slaps you in the face -- meaning within 24 hours of
your remarks being published, a large wave of violence hits Iraq.
But one Iraqi family did get some good news, real good news, genuine good
news. Chris Thompson (Windsor Star) reported
this week on the Putrus family. They left Iraq in 2009 and were fortunate in
that their refugee applications were processed. They ended up in Canada and it
was there that they bought one of the two winning Lotto tickets for a $3
million jackpot which means they won $1.5 million:
The family celebrated with a dinner at Mandarin restaurant, a
Chinese buffet.
Faiz plans to continue working as a granite designer at Granite Design Works for now but plans to start his own small business in the future, Faraj said.
"He told his boss he won that kind of money and he took a vacation," Faraj said.
The family is also planning to buy a new larger house and possibly rent out the modest bungalow they currently own.
The family, who are Christian Chaldean, lived in Baghdad in 2008 when they travelled to Syria to say goodbye to an aunt who was leaving to claim refugee status in Canada.
The situation in Baghdad was chaotic and violent.
"Killing, robbing, and our house got on fire," said Faraj.
While the family was in Syria, they received word from Baghdad that the family home had burned to the ground, and everything was lost. It was then they decided not to return, and would follow the aunt to Canada.
"We didn't stop our life," Faraj said.
Faiz plans to continue working as a granite designer at Granite Design Works for now but plans to start his own small business in the future, Faraj said.
"He told his boss he won that kind of money and he took a vacation," Faraj said.
The family is also planning to buy a new larger house and possibly rent out the modest bungalow they currently own.
The family, who are Christian Chaldean, lived in Baghdad in 2008 when they travelled to Syria to say goodbye to an aunt who was leaving to claim refugee status in Canada.
The situation in Baghdad was chaotic and violent.
"Killing, robbing, and our house got on fire," said Faraj.
While the family was in Syria, they received word from Baghdad that the family home had burned to the ground, and everything was lost. It was then they decided not to return, and would follow the aunt to Canada.
"We didn't stop our life," Faraj said.
Again, that would be actual good news. Canada's goal is 2,500 Iraqi
refugees admitted each year. That goal is one less than the US has admitted
this year. Yes, Canada is much smaller than the United States. As of their
most recent tally, FY2012 has seen only 2,501 Iraqi refugees admitted to the
US. FY2010 was the first year the current administration, President Barack
Obama, was solely responsible. (FY2010 started October 1, 2009 and ran through
September 30, 2010.) That year, the number was 24,021 -- a drop of over a
thousand and each year since has seen a bigger drop (in FY2011, only 9,388 Iraqi
refugees were admitted). Anybody remember this:
We would pursue a diplomatic offensive with every nation in the
region on behalf of Iraq’s stability, and commit $2 billion to a new
international effort to support Iraq’s refugees.
That's from a July 14, 2008 column in the New York Times entitled
"My Plan for Iraq." Barack Obama wrote that column (or his name
was put on the byline). Lot of talk for very little action. Iraqi refugees
continue to suffer and the United Nations counts 29,453 Iraqis who fled for
Iraq for safety that have been forced to return as a result of actions in
Syria.
Syria and Iraq share a border, it's Iraq's neighbor on the north-west
side. Earlier this week, Patrick Markey and Alistair Lyon (Reuters)
reported, "Syrian government forces fought rebels on Wednesday for control
of a military base and an airfield near the eastern town of Albu Kamal on the
Iraqi border, a local Iraqi official and a Syrian rebel commander said."
The conflict in Syria continues with fears that it might impact Iraq in
terms of violence. For now, it's only impact on Iraq has been the refugees who
have left Syria. Today UNHCR spokesperson Adrian Edwards addressed the issue of
Syrian refugees seeking Iraq:
Meanwhile in Iraq, Syrian refugees staying in schools are being relocated
to Al Qaem camp. Seven schools have so far been vacated with a further nine
schools still occupied by some 1,760 refugees. The school year resumes in Iraq
in early October. 1,691 people are now residing in the Al Qaem camp, while some
100 Syrians have left the camp and returned to Syria. During the last week, 24
left the camp to live with relatives. UNHCR will shortly begin to expand the
camp by 230 tents in anticipation of new arrivals. The number of Syrians
crossing into Iraq has slowed over the past week, although the refugee
population increased slightly in the Kurdistan region. Across Iraq the total
number of refugees stands at 15,898. The number of Iraqi refugees returning
from Syria to Iraq has continued despite fewer people returning over Eid due to
a shortage of buses from Damascus. Most of those returning home are heading to
Baghdad. Several of those returning told UNHCR protection staff at the border
they had been attacked or robbed on the road between Damascus and Al-tanf on the
Syrian border, losing all their money, telephones and some documents. Some
returnees say they are assessing the security situation in Iraq before deciding
to stay.
This is part of regional issue. IRIN noted Monday, "From April to August, the
number of Syrians registered with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Jordan,
Turkey, Lebanon and Iraq nearly quadrupled, from 40,000 to more than 155,000,
with recent marked increases in Jordan and Iraq. About 75 percent are believed
to be women and children." For UNICEF, Salam Abdulmunem reports on an Iraqi refugee
camp:
Recently, the local Department of Education, with assistance from
UNHCR and UNICEF, started a summer school to help the children make up for lost
time. Almost 150 boys and girls are registered in this school. But with the new
academic year quickly approaching, a shortage in space is anticipated for almost
500 children who have already been registered to join the regular school.
Later, when I visit the nearby UNICEF-supported Child Friendly
Space (CFS), I meet Perween Abdulaziz, a social worker who works with the NGO
Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (ACTED) and runs the CFS. Ms.
Abdulaziz tells me that, while some of the children have seen violence, most of
the children’s fears come from hearing their parents talk about an uncertain
future. The structure and activities provided to them through the school and CFS
are essential to bring back some sense of stability to their lives, she tells
me.
That's Dohuk which is in the Kurdistan Region Government. The KGR's
received positive reports as a result of UN inspections of their refugee camp.
Sadly, that is not true of all of Iraq. For example, last week Rudaw reported on a camp in Anbar Province
(which Nouri's Baghdad-based government is over):
Iranian Kurdish refugees residing in
Waleed camp suffer from lack of services such as drinking water, electricity and
a medical center. In
addition, Iraq’s Ministry of Interior is pressuring them to leave.
Waleed is located in Anbar province in the west, near the Syrian border.
The camp -- which accommodates 120 Palestinian families, 24 Kurdish families and
19 Arab families from Ahwaz, Iran -- was established in June 2009.
For the past three months, the Iraqi government has
been using various tactics to force the families to leave the camp, such as
removing basic services like electricity and water. However, residents of the
camp have been defying the government’s decision.
Nouri's never shown any respect for refugees. As the waves of refugees
fleeing Iraq reached record levels and became the largest refugee crisis in the
Middle East since 1948, Nouri made noises about giving some of the oil millions
to Jordan, Syria and Lebanon to help cover the costs but Nouri never forked over
the money. When the Syrian refugees need somewhere to go, Nouri's original
response was to insist that Iraq couldn't handle refugees. Only after he was
shamed on the world stage did he take the refugees in and then he shoved them
into either abandoned or unused buildings. Now he's trying to force them out
because the unused buildings were often schools and Iraqi children are resuming
their school year.
On the subject of refugees, one of the persecuted groups in Iraq that has
often elected to leave the country for safety reasons is the LGBT community. Last month Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project had some
success with regards to Iraq's LGBT refugees:
IRAP’s advocacy on behalf of LGBT Iraqis with the Dutch government
has led the Netherlands to change their policy toward LGBT asylum seekers from
Iraq, who now have a presumption of asylum. The reform also includes the
creation of a set allocation for the admission of LGBT Iraqi refugees, along
with a new expedited process. Around two weeks ago, we led a private
fact-finding tour for a representative from the Dutch Office of the Asylum
Minister. This was in addition to significant research conducted about the
plight of LGBT refugees in the are and the resultant news coverage we
received in conjunction with two other NGOs.
For some info on the policy change see: http://www.rnw.nl/english/
article/gay-iraqi-asylum- seekers-welcome-netherlands
For IRAP talking about the issue on Dutch National News:
http://www.eenvandaag.nl/ buitenland/39940/
doodseskaders_op_homojacht_in_ irak
"Peach, Tomato and Avocado Salad in the
Kitchen"
"Unemployment up, household income down"
"Cracker, shut up"
"Unemployment up, household income down"
"Cracker, shut up"
"Idiot of the week Matthew Rothschild"
"Worries for a friend"
"THIS JUST IN! NOW HE PISSES OFF THE SWISS!"
"Swiss Miss, his instant conflict"
"Worries for a friend"
"THIS JUST IN! NOW HE PISSES OFF THE SWISS!"
"Swiss Miss, his instant conflict"
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