Tag Archives: Syrian refugees

Fear and loathing in america

Last week I lost some friends because I simply asked them to wait out an investigation. They said no.

It actually started  when the Syrian Refugees crisis was prevailing on the news. Real friends that I know were all happy that Rick Scott was saying there would be no Syrian refugees here even though he has no right to say so and we have been settling them quietly in the state through the good work our churches. People who despise Rick Scott all of a sudden without understanding how things work would not show not one iota of kindness because somehow they thought that there was a terrorist next to them hiding under their bed.

At first I thought it was just like they felt that we have enough problems of our own (and we do) but then they went on and on about how they could be terrorists. Even 5 year children.

1211trudeausyrianr

I realized  most people have no idea what is going on because it is very confusing. I could not believe that so many people were so uncaring. People who claim to care about all kinds of issues  just didn’t care. To them  these people were not humans.

Sort of like how the Jewish People were treated during WW2. Boats turned away. People being killed. Children drowning. I  take Xenophobia personally because after all we (the jewish people) came from the same hood. To me xenophobia today is just an extension of antisemitism.

So I wrote this.

Xenophobia, Syrian refugees,US Governors , Nothing beats human kindness. nothing

I don’t understand how people can be so enclosed  in their own cocoons that they have no feelings for the others in the human race just because their  last name is different.

I’m pretty sure that most people don’t even know that out by Lake O is a wonderful community of middle easterners that have been there for years.

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1988-02-24/news/8801120233_1_palestinian-neighbors-palestinian-community-west-bank

Then I wrote this:

Our Brand is Crisis:Syrian refugees , Florida, Presidential Candidates

It explains the programs and how they work and how people are vetted.

Then this happened.

San Bernardino shooting

I was sitting here charting. My first reaction was who walks into a center for the developmentally disabled and shoots people? Of course there are lots of answers to that question. It could be some parent who upset with the treatment of their child.

We all sat here waiting for the identification of the shooters. Please don’t let them be:

white christian males

black

middle eastern

my relative

anyone I know

The twitterverse was filled with people waiting for a last name. Even Anne Coulter was sitting and waiting.

Of course if it was some white young male the local news would say something like “I refuse to speak the name of the shooter.” but it wasn’t so all bets were off.

In Facebook land there were lots of theories. People were just waiting and as soon as the name hit the airways Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik that was it!

ISIS had arrived in America.

The news media took that and performed their usual feeding frenzy. People hiding under their beds is great for business.

The GOP took this and their intention is to scare you even more.

This take the focus off of what we need in America and puts the focus on war. What happens: The Rich war machine people get richer. You give up more of your rights all in the name of being cowards. Nothing get’s done. All everyone does is fight with each other. What a mess.

America has turned into a bunch of

scaredy cats.

scadcats

Our friend over at Eye on Miami wrote this great post.

http://eyeonmiami.blogspot.com/2015/12/keep-us-safe-republicans-please-keep-us.html

“The heartbreak of Sandy Hook: Adam Lanza shot 20 children and 6 adults dead. Mentally ill kid with a gun. Columbine High School in Jefferson City 12 more school kids dead and one teacher. The executioner was a student. Oklahoma City another home grown terrorist killed 168 people. Aurora, a nut job named James Holmes killed 12 at a movie theater.”

sandy hook

the gorgeous faces of the children killed at Sandy hook

 

They call the San Bernadino killers “Lone Wolves” and make a big deal out them. A lot is coming out about things they had planned in past. Doesn’t mean they are sponsored by ISIS or anyone else.

Now we totally can’t have female refugees because one of them might be a terrorist.

ter·ror·ism

noun
noun: terrorism
  1. the use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims.

People are radicalized and indoctrinated in many ways. Religion. Ideologies. We all believe strongly.We all have our causes. But we don’t go around shooting people in the names of causes.

The APA has done a great job researching terrorism.

Ask Siri and go do some reading.

Google APA terrorism

I was fortunate enough to hear some of this stuff at a conference in Guatemala while representing the documentary “Interrogate this! Psychologists take on Terror.”

kleinman-galvin-production-stil

Filmmaker Maryanne Galvin interviews Steven M. Kleinman, Strategist & Consultant on National Security, Senior Military Intelligence Officer. San Francisco, August 2007. Photo: Cyndi Lenz (me behind the camera and probably the most interesting interview I ever shot)

Let me repeat. Mr Kleinman is a senior military intelligence officer.

Here is the trailer to “The Little Terrorist” a fabulous short film that is featured in Interrogate This.

You can see the whole movie here. It’s only 16 minutes long. It’s quite lovely.

Start here

excerpts

Understanding terrorism

Psychologists are amassing more concrete data on the factors that lead some people to terrorism—and using those insights to develop ways to thwart it.

By Tori DeAngelis

November 2009, Vol 40, No. 10

“Given these complexities, the psychology of terrorism is marked more by theory and opinion than by good science, researchers admit. But a number of psychologists are starting to put together reliable data. They’re finding it is generally more useful to view terrorism in terms of political and group dynamics and processes than individual ones, and that universal psychological principles—such as our subconscious fear of death and our desire for meaning and personal significance—may help to explain some aspects of terrorist actions and our reactions to them.

In fact, the notion that terrorists could be talked out of committing violence using peaceful dialogue and a helping hand is no longer an idealist’s pipe dream, but actually the aim of a growing number of “de-radicalization” programs worldwide, says social psychologist Arie Kruglanski, PhD, co-director of the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, or START, one of several university-based Centers of Excellence established under the Homeland Security Act of 2002.

“While there is still a big need to assess these programs,” says Kruglanski, who is studying some of these programs, “in some cases, there appear to be some authentic successes.”

The lure of terror

For years, psychologists examined terrorists’ individual characteristics, mining for clues that could explain their willingness to engage in violence. While researchers now agree that most terrorists are not “pathological” in any traditional sense, several important insights have been gleaned though interviews with some 60 former terrorists conducted by psychologist John Horgan, PhD, who directs the Pennsylvania State University’s International Center for the Study of Terrorism.

Horgan found that people who are more open to terrorist recruitment and radicalization tend to:

  • Feel angry, alienated or disenfranchised.
  • Believe that their current political involvement does not give them the power to effect real change.
  • Identify with perceived victims of the social injustice they are fighting.
  • Feel the need to take action rather than just talking about the problem.
  • Believe that engaging in violence against the state is not immoral.
  • Have friends or family sympathetic to the cause.
  • Believe that joining a movement offers social and psychological rewards such as adventure, camaraderie and a heightened sense of identity.

(Does this sound familiar at all?)

Beyond the individual characteristics of terrorists, Horgan has learned that it’s more fruitful to investigate how people change as a result of terrorist involvement than to simply ask why they enter in the first place. That’s because asking why tends to yield pat, ideological responses, while asking how reveals important information about the processes of entry, involvement and leaving organizations, he has found. Potential areas to tap include examining the myriad ways people join organizations, whether via recruitment or personal decision; how leaders influence people’s decision to adopt certain roles, for example by glorifying the role of suicide bomber; and factors that motivate people to leave.

Some psychologists believe terrorism is most accurately viewed through a political lens. Psychologist Clark McCauley, PhD, a co-investigator at START and director of the Solomon Asch Center for Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict at Bryn Mawr College, has come to see terrorism as “the warfare of the weak”—the means by which groups that lack material or political power fight what they see as oppressive forces. As such, he believes that terrorist actions and government reactions to them represent a dynamic interplay, with the moves of one group influencing those of the other. As one example, if terrorists commit an attack and a state uses extreme force to send a punishing message back, the terrorists may use that action to drum up greater anti-state sentiment among citizens, lending justification to their next actions. Yet research focuses almost solely on terrorist actions and neglects the important other side of the equation, he contends. “If you can’t keep track of what we’re doing in response, how can you ever hope to figure out what works better or worse?” McCauley says.

Studying de-radicalization

In the real world, psychologists also are exploring the effectiveness of initiatives taking place in countries including Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and the United Kingdom that are seeking to soften the hearts and minds of terrorist detainees. In preliminary research, Kruglanski and colleagues note that many of these programs share:

  • An intellectual component, often involving moderate Muslim clerics who hold dialogues with imprisoned detainees about the Qu’ran’s true teachings on violence and jihad.
  • An emotional component that defuses detainees’ anger and frustration by showing authentic concern for their families, through means such as funding their children’s education or offering professional training for their wives. This aspect also capitalizes on the fact that detainees are weary from their lifestyles and imprisonment.
  • A social component that addresses the reality that detainees often re-enter societies that may rekindle their radical beliefs. A program in Indonesia, for instance, uses former militants who are now law-abiding citizens to convince former terrorists that violence against civilians compromises the image of Islam.

Some of these efforts have already shown promise, says Kruglanski. For example, Egypt’s largest radical Islamic group, Al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya, renounced bloodshed in 2003, the result of a deal brokered by a Muslim attorney between the group and the Egyptian government, and a program where Muslim scholars debated with imprisoned group leaders about the true meaning of Islam. As a result, the leaders wrote 25 volumes arguing for nonviolence, and the group has perpetrated no new terrorist acts since, Kruglanski says. A second major Egyptian group, Al Jihad, renounced violence in 2007 based on a similar program.

Five other such initiatives in Northern Ireland, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Colombia are being studied by Pennsylvania State University’s Horgan. His not-yet-published research proposes a framework that policymakers can use to evaluate these programs, including examining how each effort conceptualizes and measures success, and evaluating the reality and practical significance of these success claims.

Given his own experience talking with former terrorists, Horgan is cautious about how much to expect from these programs. In his recent study, he discovered that some of these efforts not only lack clear criteria for establishing what constitutes “success,” but also that actual de-radicalization is rarely a feature of such programs—that former terrorists may rejoin society and keep from engaging in terrorist actions, but retain their radical beliefs.

So we have big brains that are working on this.

Why isn’t anyone reading this stuff?

Why? Because people would rather not educate themselves and go hide their bed and be terrorized by CNN or Fox News being intimidated in the pursuit of political aims. Now that’s terrorism.

 

Bright Lights: The Children of Canada

#welcomerefugees

#welcometocanada

Compassion and inspiration

Bring your kleenex

 

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Bright Lights:Justin Trudeau and Canada!

#welcometocanada

#welcomerefugees

I feel very inspired by the compassion of Prime Minister Trudeau and the people of Canada who have shown us what it is like to be human.

1211trudeausyrianr

 

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Greets First Intake of Syrian Refugees

By 12/11/15 at 4:08 AM

“A government plane carrying 163 Syrian refugees has arrived in Canada, as part of the newly elected Liberal government’s pledge to take in 25,000 people by the end of February. Greeting the new arrivals, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country was “showing the world how to open our hearts.” A second group of refugees is due to arrive in the southern city of Montreal on Saturday, bringing the total to 300.

The plane, which touched down just before midnight local time, was met by Trudeau, the ministers for health, defence and immigration, Ontario’s premier and the mayor of Toronto, Canadian newspaper the Toronto Star reports. Many well-wishers also arrived to greet the refugees who were given welcome bags upon arrival.”

‘We are very happy to be in Canada,’ says newly arrived Syrian refugee

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Premier Kathleen Wynne, Toronto Mayor John Tory and other dignitaries welcome first government plane of Syrian refugees.

Trudeau and Wynne greeted the first two families to come through processing and gave them winter coats.

The first family was a couple with their 16-month-old girl and the second was a man and woman with their three daughters, two of whom are twins. Both families said they were happy to be here.

 

 

 

 

 

Our Brand is Crisis:Syrian refugees , Florida, Presidential Candidates

Here is your blog reading music. I was doing some research and I came across this. Norval Marley, the father of Bob Marley, was of Syrian Jewish descent.  This(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrian_Jews)

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

I don’t know about you but when I look for a leader I look for someone who will, in a crisis, do their research, not over react, take everything into consideration. Actually know what the deal is.

In the last week we’ve seen a lot of ugliness coming out of people just reacting and not understanding. I found it very sad that people could not take the five minutes to google to find out but actually believe the hype that was pushed by the news.

We have got to do better.

“Crisis management is the process by which an organization deals with a major event that threatens to harm the organization, its stakeholders, or the general public. The study of crisis management originated with the large-scale industrial and environmental disasters in the 1980s It is considered to be the most important process in public relations.

Three elements are common to a crisis: (a) a threat to the organization, (b) the element of surprise, and (c) a short decision time. Venett argues that “crisis is a process of transformation where the old system can no longer be maintained.” Therefore, the fourth defining quality is the need for change. If change is not needed, the event could more accurately be described as a failure or incident.”

There is a Syrian Refugee Crisis. What happens? Our GOP Governors and GOP Presidential candidates instead of showing how they could be leaders  turn it into a way to show their base exactly how stupid and immature they are. Even some Democrats. Wouldn’t it be better to do the right thing and then educate your electorate? (Patrick Murphy and Gwen Graham)

Do we really need elected officials to have gut reactions like a sixteen year teen ( Sorry an insult to the 16 year old teen.) with out even understanding the issue. If they are too lazy to look this stuff up by themselves don’t they have staff?

Here’s a map of every state refusing to accept Syrian refugees

mapsyraingov

What they don’t know is they already have been doing this.

They don’t have the legal right to make these statements. They could make it difficult but it would look crazy since they already have been doing so and this could cut down the amount of money they are given from the Federal Resettlement Fund which would really mess with Florida’s resettlement of Cubans who come here and automatically get accepted.

“Kevin Appleby, director of migration policy at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said one tactic states could use would be to cut their own funding in areas such as resettling refugees. The conference is the largest refugee resettlement organization in the country.

But “when push comes to shove, the federal government has both the plenary power and the power of the 1980 Refugee Act to place refugees anywhere in the country,” Appleby said.”

In a manner of moments the fight went on Facebook and I’m sure many arguments and many unfriendings happened.
What I don’t want is a Governor who thinks he speaks for me. Governor Rick Scott before blurting out that would not take any Syrian refugees should have done a few things.

He should have actually found out the deal was, do some research and not totally over act like the rest of the GOP Governors and the one’s running for President. How self centered can these people get? Did you ask the citizens of Florida what they wanted? No. Have you ever? No. Do you even care about Florida? No You just care about what your friends the Koch brothers will give you.

So here are some things all your staff should have told you.

From the

The politics of the Syrian refugee crisis, explained

So far this fiscal year, 1,393 Syrian refugees have been admitted to the United States, according to State Department data. The United States plans to admit, “several hundred more” [Syrian] refugees before the end of this month, for a total of 1,500-1,800 individuals this fiscal year, the State Department told The Fix on Wednesday.

imrs.php.png
Here’s a map depicting the areas of the United States in which these individuals were settled.

 

“Here’s what we know about previous years: Refugee resettlement data, like many other federal measures, is recorded for each fiscal year — the period between Oct. 1 and Sept. 30. In fiscal year 2012, during which the conflict in Syria was well underway, the United States admitted 31 Syrian refugees. That was followed by a slight uptick to 36 in fiscal year 2013, and a jump to 105 Syrian refugees in 2014. In fiscal year 2015 (which as we noted is still ongoing): 1,393.”

So this has been going on already.

The process for a refugee to get in is very rigorous.

The Reception and Placement Program

Information about the sponsoring agency is communicated back to the originating RSC, which then works with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to transport the refugee to his or her new home. The cost of refugee transportation is provided as a loan, which refugees are required to begin repaying after they are established in the United States.

Once in the United States

The Department of State has cooperative agreements with nine domestic resettlement agencies to resettle refugees. While some of the agencies have religious affiliations, they are not allowed to proselytize. The standard cooperative agreement between the Department of State and each of the domestic resettlement agencies specifies the services that the agency must provide to each refugee. All together, the nine domestic resettlement agencies place refugees in about 190 communities throughout the United States. Each agency headquarters maintains contact with its local affiliated agencies to monitor the resources (e.g., interpreters who speak various languages, the size and special features of available housing, the availability of schools with special services, medical care, English classes, employment services, etc.) that each affiliate’s community can offer.

As the cooperative agreement requires, all refugees are met at the airport upon arrival in the United States by someone from the sponsoring resettlement affiliate and/or a family member or friend. They are taken to their apartment, which has basic furnishings, appliances, climate-appropriate clothing, and some of the food typical of the refugee’s culture. Shortly after arrival, refugees are helped to start their lives in the United States. This includes applying for a Social Security card, registering children in school, learning how to access shopping facilities, arranging medical appointments, and connecting refugees with needed social or language services.

The Department of State’s Reception and Placement program provides assistance for refugees to settle in the United States. It supplies resettlement agencies a one-time sum per refugee to assist with meeting expenses during a refugee’s first few months in the United States. Most of these funds go toward the refugees’ rent, furnishings, food, and clothing, as well as to pay the costs of agency staff salaries, office space, and other resettlement-related expenses that are not donated or provided by volunteers.

Though the Department of State’s Reception and Placement program is limited to the first three months after arrival, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement works through the states and other nongovernmental organizations to provide longer-term cash and medical assistance, as well as language, employment, and social services.

Refugees receive employment authorization upon arrival and are encouraged to become employed as soon as possible. Based on years of experience, the U.S. refugee resettlement program has found that people learn English and begin to function comfortably much faster if they start work soon after arrival. Most refugees begin in entry-level jobs, even if they have high-level skills or education. With time, many if not most refugees move ahead professionally and find both success and satisfaction in the United States.

After one year, refugees are required to apply for permanent residence (commonly referred to as a green card) and after five years in the United States, a refugee is eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship.

You get the picture.

I can’t tell you the multiple time Rick Scott has over reacted from a freakin fan at a debate when he refused to go (This should been a clue to the clueless) to closing down recruiters instead of waiting five minutes to find out the shooting was by a mentally ill person and not ISIS hiding under our bed. (http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/rick-scott-orders-guard-recruiters-to-armory/2237822)

http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/florida/2015/11/8583483/state-department-punctures-scotts-syrian-refugee-claim

“Ever since last Friday’s terror attacks in Paris, Gov. Rick Scott has been a mainstay on national news outlets criticizing President Obama’s plan to relocate 10,000 Syrian refugees to the United States.”

Keep talkin your self into this hole. Because it’s a long way down.

“And the 425 figure isn’t tied solely to Syrian refugees. It represents the capacity Florida has to accept additional refugees from anywhere in the world, according to the Florida Department of Children and Families, one of Scott’s own agencies.

In addition, federal officials say they have not discussed a specific number of Syrian refugees that could come to Florida.

“We have not asked Florida to take 425 refugees,” a State Department official told POLITICO Florida. “No specific number of Syrian refugees has been discussed with the governor of Florida.”

Whoops.

Does he even know we have 92 people in Florida right now?

Do me a favor: before you REACT do some research.

“Three elements are common to a crisis: (a) a threat to the organization, (b) the element of surprise, and (c) a short decision time. Venett argues that “crisis is a process of transformation where the old system can no longer be maintained.” Therefore, the fourth defining quality is the need for change. If change is not needed, the event could more accurately be described as a failure or incident.”

Before you react. Take a breath. Be 100% Be Human

Let’s avert the crisis.