Thursday, January 28, 2016



Revealed: Migrant boy, 15, arrested on suspicion of murdering Swedish social worker is from Somalia

The migrant teenager arrested on suspicion of stabbing to death a young Swedish social worker at a at a shelter for refugee children is from Somalia, one of her colleagues has revealed.

Alexandra Mezher, 22, was working on a night shift alone with ten teenagers when she was attacked at the home for unaccompanied young refugees in Mölndal, near Gothenburg. She later died of her injuries in hospital.

Details of the 15-year-old boy being held by murder detectives come as Miss Mezher's family blamed Sweden's migration crisis for her death.

Chiméne Mezher, 42, today told how she had lost her 'angel', as a cousin said: 'It is the Swedish politicians' fault that she is dead.'

Sweden is one of the main destinations for refugees and migrants entering the EU and police warn they cannot cope with the tide of migrant-related crime.

Paying tribute to her 'angel', her mother wept: 'She was my air, she was my everything, why her?'

'She was a just and fair human being. There were so many who loved her. She was my daughter, my friend.. my mate,' Mrs Mezher said.

Miss Mezher's best friend-of-eight-years Lejla Filipovic, 22, also paid tribute to the young social worker today, saying the pair were like sisters.

'She was so goodhearted, she wanted to do so much in life,' she said adding that she had sometimes worried that Miss Mezher was putting herself at risk.

'I know that some of the kids aren't in a good place right now, because they came without their parents, so sometimes I was worried, but I knew that she had good co-workers.'

The tributes came as Swedish police announced that the Somali boy accused of murdering Miss Mezher will stand trial as an adult.

The teenager remains in custody, an unusual step as youngsters are normally sent to a secure children’s home following arrest.

However, police told MailOnline they had made the decision to keep the teenager behind bars due to the serious nature of the crime and the public outrage follow the brutal knife killing Miss Mezher.

The teenage migrant accused of murdering a young Swedish social worker at a refugee centre will stand trial as an adult, MailOnline has learnt.  And he will be held in an adult prison until he goes on trial.

‘A person is criminally responsible when they reach 15-years-old in Sweden,’ a Gothenburg Police spokesman told MailOnline.

The spokesman added: ‘He is not known by the police and has not been arrested before. ‘But there is always a variable of uncertainty about these kids identity.  ‘We don´t know anything about the boy's family. We have not even established his identity with a 100% certainty yet.’

Meanwhile police have praised the bravery of the two residents of the migrant centre who tackled the killer, saying their courage had saved lives.  ‘The two boys who over-powered the knifeman probably saved lives,’ a Gothenburg Police spokesman told MailOnline.

‘When the first patrol came to the centre they were informed that the boy was held down by two other boys who were living there.

‘When they entered the crime scene they found him on the floor being held by these two boys.  ‘They had over-powered him and probably saved the lives of others.  ‘It is fair to say that they were really brave and courageous in their actions.

‘We found what we think is the murder weapon laying beside them.’

All residents of the migrant centre, a drab three-storey building on the outskirts of Molndal, a suburb of Gothenburg, have been moved to another location, it has emerged.

A police spokesman told MailOnline: ‘We have seven witnesses who saw the incident and we will talk to them again tomorrow. The 15 year old boy will be interrogated again tomorrow as well.

‘All the boys who were staying at the centre has been allocated to other centres in Mölndal.’

The incident comes amid rising tensions over migration in Sweden. The number of threats and violent incidents at asylum facilities doubled between 2014 and 2015.

Earlier this week, Stockholm police warned that the capital's main train station is 'overrun' by gangs of Moroccan street children, who are 'stealing and groping girls' and have called for more resources to cope. 

Today, Prime minister Stefan Lofven admitted that many people are fearful of attacks similar to the killing of Miss Mezher, because 'Sweden receives so many children and youths arriving alone'.

Sweden accepted more than 160,000 asylum seekers in 2015, more than any other EU state per capita.

Alexandra, of Lebanese Christian origin, lived with her parents Boutros, 46, and Chiméne Mezher, and her two younger brothers in Borås, some 40 miles from Molndal.

Her father came to Sweden from Beirut, Lebanon, in 1989 and her mother moved there three years later.

It has now emerged that Miss Mezher had been working alone at the housing in Mölndal, which is home to ten unaccompanied minors.

Despite rules that the staff should work in pairs, Miss Mezher had been working a night shift all by herself and was attacked just half an hour before daytime staff were due to take over, it is claimed.

A colleague speaking on condition of anonymity said that staff had previously complained about having to work alone overnight.

SOURCE






Stacey Dash: 'Black History Month and BET Shouldn't Exist'

Dash has some African ancestry

Actress Stacey Dash has gone another round with her critics.

On a recent blog post at Patheos, Dash argued that having black-centered awards and organizations "further divide us" as Americans.

She also wrote that cities, Hollywood and universities are all controlled by liberals - yet "are the three major institutions that black people are concerned about in society as being unfair to minorities."

The controversy began on January 20, when Dash, 49, went on "Fox & Friends" and argued that black actors and activist who recently criticized the Academy Awards for lack of diversity should not have awards shows centered around black artists.  "I think it's ludicrous," Dash said at the time. "We have to make up our minds; either we want to have segregation or integration. If we don't want segregation, then we need to get rid of channels like BET [Black Entertainment Television] and the BET Awards, and the [NAACP] Image Awards, where you're only awarded if you're black."

The remarks were followed by criticism of Dash by Whoopi Goldberg, BET, and Dash's own cousin Damon Dash.

Dash has now responded. Some excerpts from her blog:

    "If you’ve been paying attention to social media lately, you may have seen that my name is trending.  It seems every other black person in America has disowned me. That’s because I said things like “Black History Month” and BET shouldn’t exist, since they further divide us.  I feel like it’s hypocritical to say that we’re all the same, but then to self-segregate into little enclaves of society.  Also, I think the #OscarSoWhite controversy is lame, because black people should not demand that every segment of society who watches movies be reflected in the number of Oscars given to actors and actresses.  That’s just not how the world works…

    What are the three major institutions that black people are concerned about in society as being unfair to minorities?

    Universities (riddled with #BlackLivesMatter protests), Hollywood (#OscarsSoWhite), and major urban cities (which have been described as declaring “open season” on black men).

    Yet, ALL of these areas are dominated by LIBERALS…

    Why the hell do we keep doing the same thing and expect a different result?

    We don’t have to...

    Isn’t it funny how Clarence Thomas — once associated with the black panthers — is no longer considered “black” because of his beliefs?  Isn’t it funny how Bill Clinton — as white as the driven snow — was called by Toni Morrison the “first black President” simply because he was a “single-parent household, born poor, working-class, saxophone-playing, McDonald’s-and-junk-food-loving boy from Arkansas.”

    Got that?

    Clarence Thomas isn’t black because he is conservative.

    Bill Clinton is black, because he’s a poor, fast food loving boy from Arkansas"

SOURCE

    




After Cologne: where are the feminists?

Why are 'progressives' so reluctant to question what happened?

Many have been shocked this month by the wall of silence from feminists in regards to the crimes committed by men in Cologne. For people forever keen to wail in disgust at such appalling transgressions as pink razors, wolf whistles, being complimented on having lost weight, having their knee touched by a DJ in 1967 and other such ‘everyday sexism’, you’d think feminists would be the first to speak out about women being groped, molested and assaulted in public.

We’ve been shocked, but not surprised. That the culprits were mostly of North African descent precludes any honest discussion among ‘progressives’ for fear of being deemed racist. The Swedish police hushed up similar events for the same reason: better to ignore or hide unhelpful or dangerous facts than to discuss the truth. Cowardice and evasion are par for the course when it comes to the liberal left these days, who are far more concerned with their public standing as caring ‘Good People’ – in contradistinction to conservatives, who are deemed selfish ‘Bad People’.

I salute the courage of anyone who moves in polite North London circles who uttered this month: ‘You know? I think it’s because North Africans are culturally backwards when it comes to women. I don’t think Islam helps, either.’

Then there is a desperate desire among the modern left to abide by the creed of ‘white male privilege’. What happened in Cologne doesn’t fit into this ideology – being neither white nor privileged – hence the contorted attempt to rationalise the incidents. It must be media invention. Or something to do with the legacy of colonialism. The perpetrators are men foremost, and race and religion are of secondary importance, relevant only to the awful white xenophobes on Twitter luxuriating in all their privilege. This is what happens when people mentally imprison themselves in ideology.

How did feminism become so insular and deceitful, and progressives so craven and cowardly? We should blame the 1960s, when the ‘personal became the political’. Not forgiving, metaphorically, the French workers refusing to open their factory doors in solidarity to the rioting students of 1968, the modern left started to become ever-more detached from the working class, fulfilling instead the libertine dream of ‘self realisation’.

Later seduced by myopic identity politics, so-called progressives have become increasingly preening and self-consumed. Believe it or not, there was a time when feminists wanting to make a point didn’t feel the need to take all their clothes off in public. There was also an era when people who campaigned for equality weren’t all brittle-minded, middle-class cry-babies. Feminists used to see themselves as active subjects engaged with the outside world, not insular, helpless objects of the power from without.

Once the left spoke of ‘producers’, now it speaks up for ethical ‘consumer rights’ and ‘personal choice’. Once the Labour Party was the party for the workers, now it speaks from above on behalf of people on benefits. As much as the Corbynistas and the Labour right protest at their differences, both marshal support from the liberal bourgeoisie who see in voting Labour a means to discharge guilt for being rich. Labour is a Whig party now in all but name. Feminism is as middle-class as the Suffragette movement. So don’t expect any honesty about Cologne from these haughty, detached ‘progressives’.

It is a lazy axiom that right-wing people are more self-centred, but for some decades it’s been ‘progressives’, straight out of public school, who are more concerned with their public reputation. They go on demonstrations, sign petitions, love refugees, express sympathy for every fashionable cause, apologise for historical wrongs that they didn’t carry out, bump into ethnic minorities on purpose so they can say ‘sorry’ (or simply say sorry for being white in the first place). They will do anything except say something that might have them lose face in public – like tell the truth when it’s inconvenient.

Sexist shopping

Pink razors are more than just an example of ‘everyday sexism’: they are a symbol of capitalist exploitation. According to a Times report on Tuesday, women are being charged up to twice as much as men for a range of products aimed at women, such as pink razors and ‘pens for women’. Caroline Dinenage, the minister for women and equalities, says she is ‘deeply concerned by any suggestion that women are being treated unfairly’, while Kate Green, the shadow equalities minister, said that Labour would press for the government to act.

This is akin to saying ‘something must be done’ about Waitrose being more expensive than Aldi. If women feel they are being over-charged, they should shop more shrewdly. As female letter writer put it in The Times: ‘If women are prepared to pay more for pink pens and razors, more fool them. It’s called consumer choice.’

On the other hand, if women want to pay more for an object they find more aesthetically pleasing and more ‘feminine’, that, too, is up to them. Either way, the idea that this gender disparity in prices necessitates government intervention on behalf of women is but further evidence of feminism’s passivity.

SOURCE






Denmark approves controversial reforms forcing migrants to hand over valuables to pay for benefits and delaying family reunifications by two years

The Danish parliament has approved a series of controversial proposals aiming to make the country a less attractive destination refugees and migrants.  

The measures were passed by an overwhelming majority with the main centre-left opposition Social Democrats voting in favour as Denmark's political landscape shifts to the right thanks to the popularity of anti-immigrant Danish People's Party

Measures include confiscating migrants' valuables in order to finance their upkeep while they seek asylum, and making it harder to bring family members to Denmark once they have a right to remain.

The proposals have been severely criticised by the United Nations as well as international media, where the measures have been compared to the treatment of Jews in Nazi Germany.

Denmark had previously been seen as more of a thoroughfare, with many migrants and refugees passing through on their way to Sweden.

However, in December last year, the Swedish government introduced a cap on migrants and mandatory ID-checks on its borders, meaning more people have stayed in Denmark.

Lawmakers in Copenhagen hope the bill will reduce the influx of migrants and help new arrivals of refugee status.

The most controversial measure on the bill is the introduction of police searches and confiscations of cash and valuables.

Danish police will be able to search luggage of asylum seekers and seize cash exceeding 10,000 kroner (£1,025), as well as any individual items valued at more than that amount.

Wedding rings and other items of sentimental value will be exempt.

The Danish government has defended the request that asylum seekers sell valuables and offer up cash, as the same rules apply for all Danish citizens who wish to qualify for social benefits.

'We are saying that if you want to come to Europe you should stay clear of Denmark,' said Martin Henriksen, a spokesman for the anti-immigration Danish People's Party.

The new bill will also makes it harder for family members left behind to join asylum seekers in Denmark once they have been granted residency - even if they are refugees.

Being a refugee - fleeing war but not individual prosecution - will no longer qualify for the highest form of protection status under Danish law, and they will have to wait three years instead of one year before applying for family reunifications.

Once the application has been filed, the process can take years, and refugees would have to pay the transportation costs of family members they bring to the country.

The waiting time has prompted allegations that Denmark will violate the European Convention on Human Rights, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the UN Refugee Convention.

Amnesty International said the move could 'have a devastating impact on families, including their rehabilitation from experiences of trauma and their ability to integrate and adapt to life in a new country.'

Residence permits would be shortened from five years to two for refugees and asylum seekers facing persecution based on their race, nationality, religion, political beliefs or association with a specific social group.

In addition, the requirements for permanent residency applications now include new Danish language requirements  and the person must have been employed for 2.5 of the past three years rather than three out of five years.

The selection of 500 yearly UN quota refugees will be based on their 'integration potential' which includes criteria like language abilities, education, work experience, age and motivation. The criteria were first introduced in 2005 by a right-wing government but were later rolled back.

The bill has sparked international outrage, especially in the US, where the Washington Post noted that confiscating jewellery from refugees had 'a particularly bitter connotation in Europe' where the Nazis seized gold and valuables from Jews and others during the Second World War.

Several organisations, including the UN High Commission for Refugees, also censured the Nordic country for the proposal, as well as for others that will delay family reunification and make acquiring refugee and residence status more difficult.

Europe's human rights and democracy body said earlier this month it was 'deeply concerned' at the proposed changes to Danish immigration laws.

SOURCE

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Political correctness is most pervasive in universities and colleges but I rarely report the  incidents concerned here as I have a separate blog for educational matters.

American "liberals" often deny being Leftists and say that they are very different from the Communist rulers of  other countries.  The only real difference, however, is how much power they have.  In America, their power is limited by democracy.  To see what they WOULD be like with more power, look at where they ARE already  very powerful: in America's educational system -- particularly in the universities and colleges.  They show there the same respect for free-speech and political diversity that Stalin did:  None.  So look to the colleges to see  what the whole country would be like if "liberals" had their way.  It would be a dictatorship.

For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, GREENIE WATCH,   EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS and  DISSECTING LEFTISM.   My Home Pages are here or   here or   here.  Email me (John Ray) here

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