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Obama Plans to Bring in Four Times As Many Syrian Refugees in 2017
Sep 17th, 2016
Daily NewsChristian News
Categories: Contemporary Issues

In 2016, approximately 10,000 Syrian refugees were brought into the United States, but in 2017 that number could skyrocket to 40,000 under Barack Obama's new plan. 

Obama says that we must play our part in taking in those displaced by the ongoing Syrian civil war, but Republicans in Congress are outraged by this announcement and remain deeply concerned that there are terrorists among the refugees that are being brought in. 

The Obama administration insists that all refugees are being subjected to rigorous screening, but his critics are quite skeptical. Coming out of the midst of a five year civil war, documentation is scarce for many of these refugees, and there aren't too many people that you can call over there that can serve as a solid reference at this point.

According to USA Today, the total number of refugees worldwide that will be brought in next year is scheduled to rise by 29 percent under Obama's new plan...

The White House plans to sharply increase the number of refugees accepted by the United States to 110,000 in the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, saying the move is necessary to help stem a migrant crisis gripping Europe and the Middle East.

The new target is a 29% increase over the 85,000 refugees accepted this fiscal year and a 57% hike over the 70,000 refugees allowed per year from 2013 to 2015.

Most of the mainstream news outlets that are talking about this story are not mentioning the number that will be admitted from Syria. And there is a good reason for this. 

According to NBC News, the number of refugees that will be brought in from "the Near East and South Asia" would rise to at least 40,000 under Obama's plan, and "most of those are likely to be people escaping the brutal Syrian civil war"...

Of the 110,000 the U.S. intends to begin admitting at least 40,000 are from the Near East and South Asia, a White House senior administration official said. And most of those are likely to be people escaping the brutal Syrian civil war, even as many GOP lawmakers and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump sound the alarm about terrorists in the midst of the refugees.

During fiscal year 2016, approximately 85,000 refugees were admitted to this country, and approximately 10,000 of those were Syrian refugees according to the federal Refugee Processing Center.

So if the number of Syrian refugees approaches 40,000 as Obama's plan appears to indicate, that would mean that somewhere around four times as many Syrian refugees will be brought into this country next year.

If we were helping Christians and other minorities that are being brutally persecuted by ISIS that would be one thing. But instead, it is being reported that only 0.46% of the refugees in the U.S. are Christians, and 98.33 percent of them are Sunni Muslims.

ISIS is a Sunni Muslim terror organization. We should be focusing our help on the religious minorities that are being tortured, killed and driven from their homes by ISIS, but instead almost all of the refugees that are being brought in are on the same religious side of the fence as ISIS.

And it is important to note that surveys have discovered that a significant percentage of Syrian refugees actually have a favorable view of ISIS.

The chaos that Sunni refugees have caused in cities all over Europe has definitely shifted public opinion in the U.S. about taking in more refugees. One poll that was taken back in November found that 56 percent of all Americans disapprove of bringing in more Syrian refugees, and only 41 percent of all Americans approve.

But Obama is going ahead anyway. At this point he is a lame duck, and so he doesn't really have to answer to anyone.

Some governors tried to stand up and say that they wouldn't take any more refugees in their states. Unfortunately for those governors, the courts ruled against them...

What happens next remains to be seen. Last year, with Syrian refugees flooding into Europe, the White House increased the number of refugees it would admit from the war-torn country. That led Republican governors in roughly two dozen states to express their opposition to receiving Syrians. Some governors filed lawsuits to stop refugees from coming to their states; they lost.

And so it is going to be up to Congress to try to do something.

As I have written about previously, it appears that the Syrian refugees that have been brought in so far have not been distributed on a uniform basis throughout the nation. 

According to the Obama administration, large cities such as Washington D.C. are deemed to be "too expensive" for the refugees, and there have been lots of reports of Syrian refugees being settled in smaller communities all over the country. In my previous article, this is how I described the impact that this could have...

If you drop a few hundred refugees into a major city of several million people, it isn't going to make much of a difference. But if you drop a few hundred refugees into a small town that has only a few thousand people living there, you can start to fundamentally alter the character of the whole area. 

Could it be possible that this is yet another way that Barack Obama is attempting to "fundamentally transform" America?

Many people have asked why we have to take in so many Sunni refugees when wealthy Sunni nations such as Saudi Arabia haven't taken in any.

And I think that is a legitimate question.

In the end, there has to be a balance. We want to help those that are fleeing the brutal religious persecution of ISIS, but we also want to be mindful of our own national security. I think that what House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte had to say about this was very appropriate...

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) criticized the decision, saying policymakers should focus on reforming the nation's system for admitting refugees rather than having the White House set goals.

"For generations, the United States has been a safe haven for people fleeing persecution. We must remain compassionate toward refugees but we also need to make sure that we use common sense," Goodlatte said in a statement. 

"Unfortunately, President Obama unilaterally increases the number of refugees resettled in the United States each year and gives little thought as to how it will impact local communities. The president also continues to ignore warnings from his own national security officials and plans to bring in even more Syrian refugees over the next year."

In Orlando we witnessed what a single lone wolf Islamic terrorist can do.

We need to use common sense, and we need to do the best that we can to make sure that the people that we are bringing in do not want to conduct their own personal jihads once they get here.

Unfortunately, Barack Obama has his own agenda, and it does not appear to be in the best interest of the United States. 

Let the Headlines Speak
Sep 17th, 2016
Daily NewsFrom the Internet
Categories: Today's Headlines

Magnitude 6.0 Earthquake Occurs Off Vanuatu’s Coast - USGS Read more: https://sputniknews.com/asia/20160917/1045397980/earthquake-hits-off-vanuatu-co
A 6.0-magnitude earthquake has occurred off the coast of Vanuatu, and island nation in the South Pacific Ocean, the US Geological Survey (USGS) reports.  

Magnitude-5.6 earthquake jolts Jayapura, Papua
An earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter Scale jolted Jayapura City, Papua Province, on Saturday at 8:20 a.m. local time.  

Rabbis Declare King of Togo a Fraud and Idol Worshiper, Ending Plans for Massive Gathering
The rabbi also began to see deeper problems. Francois thought he was the messiah and had convinced others to believe this as well. “ It is impossible to continue to work with this man if he declares that he is the Messiah,” said Rabbi Asur. “His intention was to crown himself in Jerusalem. “I expect more and more of these leaders will arise as we continue within our redemptive process, which is a global process,”  

Arch from Temple of Ba'al to Stand in New York
Despite initially cancelling plans to erect a reproduction of the Victory Arch that stood for 1,800 years in front of the Temple of Ba’al in Palmyra, the Institute for Digital Archaeology (IDA) has announced they will recreate the arch destroyed by the Islamic State (ISIS) in New York City’s City Hall Park on September 19th. The Triumphal Arch, ...will be a fitting tribute to America’s great metropolis.  

Iran: Ahmadinejad continues political comeback as candidates prepare for presidential election
Despite presidential elections still eight months away in Iran, potential candidates have been making their moves early as they take on the challenge to deseat the country’s incumbent Hassan Rouhani. Top military commander and head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Quds forces Qassem Soleimani and former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were among the more familiar names.  

Florida sinkhole causes huge waste water leak into aquifer
About 980 million litres of contaminated water have leaked into Florida's main underground source of drinking water, state officials say. The leak occurred after a huge sinkhole opened up under a phosphate fertiliser plant near Tampa, damaging the stack where waste water was stored. The water contained phosphogypsum, a slightly radioactive by-product from the production of fertiliser.  

Syria war: US and Russia argue over truce
There are signs of growing tensions between the US and Russia over Syria - four days after a ceasefire came into effect in the country. Moscow warned it could resume air strikes on "moderate" rebel groups unless Washington did more to distance them from extremists. In turn, the US voiced concern about delays in providing humanitarian aid to Aleppo and other besieged areas.  

Mexico: Thousands of demonstrators demand President Nieto's resignation
Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Mexico City to demand the president's resignation. Protesters gathered as anger mounted over President Enrique Pena Nieto's handling of drug violence, corruption - and his meeting with Donald Trump. Cries of "resign now" rang out as they marched to the Zocalo square on the eve of Mexico's independence day holiday.  

Belgium minor first to be granted euthanasia
A terminally-ill minor has become the first to be helped to die in Belgium since age restrictions on euthanasia requests were removed two years ago, officials say. The head of the federal euthanasia commission confirmed the case but gave no further details. Belgium is the only country that allows minors of any age to choose euthanasia.  

South Sudan refugees reach one million mark
The number of people who have fled South Sudan because of the country's civil war has passed the one million mark, the UN refugee agency says. Fighting that broke out in the capital, Juba, in July is responsible for the latest surge in those fleeing, it says. More than 1.6 million people are also displaced within South Sudan, meaning about 20% of the population have been made homeless since December 2013.  

Coalition strike kills IS 'minister of information': Pentagon
A coalition air strike in Syria has killed a senior Islamic State operative considered the group's information minister, a week after another raid eliminated a top IS strategist, the Pentagon said Friday.  

Between reckless ally and old rival, China in a bind over North Korea
China is in a bind over what to do about North Korea's stepped-up nuclear and missile tests, even though it is annoyed with its ally and has started talks with other U.N. Security Council members on a new sanctions resolution against Pyongyang.  

Tel Aviv Diary: Obama Exacts Cold Revenge On Netanyahu
It’s clear that President Obama got his revenge on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week. Netanyahu was forced to hail the new memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between Washington and Jerusalem as a historic achievement for Israel. It is nominally the largest commitment of aid that the United States has ever given to any country. Politically, Netanyahu can’t afford to admit that the agreement is far from perfect, and his spokesman constantly repeated what an excellent agreement it is.  

Former Diplomat Warns: The LGBT Ideology is 'Inherently Totalitarian'
A former diplomat to the European Union described the "LGBT ideology" as "inherently totalitarian" at Hillsdale College's Constitution Day celebration on Thursday. He contrasted "democratic sovereignty" (the idea behind the United States Constitution) with "global governance," which uses a post-modern interpretation of human rights to replace the traditional view of human nature and limited government.  

Powell discusses secret Israeli nukes in leaked 2015 email
In a private email exchange last year leaked this week by hackers, former Secretary of State Colin Powell discussed Israel's nuclear weapons capability with a friend, saying the country has 200 warheads.  

Foreign Central Banks Sell A Record $343 Billion In US Trasuries In The Last Year
One month ago, when we last looked at the Fed's update of Treasuries held in custody, we noted something troubling: the number dropped sharply, declining by over $17 billion, bringing the total to $2.871 trillion, the lowest amount of Treasuries held by foreigners at the Fed since 2012. One month later, we refresh this chart and find that in the latest weekly update, foreign central banks accelerated their liquidation of US paper held in the Fed's custody account, which tumbled by $27.5 billion in the past week, the biggest weekly drop since January 2015, pushing the total amount of custodial paper to $2.83 trillion, the lowest since 2012.  

Euthanasia Practices Continue to Spread Worldwide
Sep 17th, 2016
CommentaryPNW STAFF
Categories: Contemporary Issues

This week came the disturbing news out of Rio that one of the Belgian Paralympians is considering suicide after the Paralympics are over. The athlete in question,  Marieke Vervoort, has since denied she has any plans to end her life even though she does say she has her euthanasia papers "in hand".
Euthanasia has been legal in Belgium since 2002 when it became only the second country in the world to legalize assisted dying. To be eligible for euthanasia in Belgium, the law does not require that a patient be terminal, only that they are experiencing unbearable physical suffering. That's why Marieke Vervoort, who suffers from a painful degenerative spinal condition is eligible. 

She claims that euthanasia being legal allows her to keep living in peace knowing that she can end her life when she is ready.  In a media conference she claimed that she "would have committed suicide" had it not been for the fact that euthanasia was a possibility.

In the decade after Belgium legalized doctor-assisted death, the number of patients using it to end their lives rose 800%, according to records of the national euthanasia control committee. 

Critics of Belgium's law believe the law sends the wrong message about of the value of life and that the law is effecting the country's most vulnerable.  In 2013 Belgium extended their euthanasia laws to also include children, despite proponents earlier saying that it would never apply to children.

Just last year it emerged that a woman suffering from 'suicidal thoughts' had been given the green light to end her own life despite suffering no physical illness. While the law is meant to prevent euthanasia in such cases, critics argue that increasingly the safeguards are being openly ignored.

The renewed focus on euthanasia comes at a time when the practice is rapidly spreading across the world. The Netherlands, Belgium, Colombia and Luxemburg have legalized euthanasia while in Switzerland, Germany, Japan and Canada, doctor-assisted suicide, where patients take the final action themselves, is legal. Australia is currently considering legislation which would legalize euthanasia in the coming weeks as well. 

In the United States euthanasia is already legal in 5 states including Washington, Oregon, California, Montana and Vermont. Proponents however are attempting to legalize assisted dying nationwide with 20 states currently facing proposed euthanasia legislation.  

empts have been made in the past to legalize euthanasia via the courts, but these failed after the Supreme Court ruled that there is no implied right to die in the constitution. 

Opponents of euthanasia argue that what is needed is better support structures for the disabled and dying rather than euthanasia. They argue we should be supporting those who ask to die and helping to make their lives more worthwhile rather than just giving up on them and allowing them to end their lives.

Much of the debate around assisted dying focuses on the individuals rights. There is a very real fear that some elderly and mentally ill patients could be pressured or even coerced into asking for euthanasia. 

For these patients the legalization of assisted dying represents a threat to their autonomy.  When policy makers make law they have to consider the ramifications for wider society, not just for the individuals involved.

Euthanasia is not a new issue, people have debated about whether individuals have a right to die for hundreds of years. What is new however is how much momentum the 'For' campaign has managed to build.  

Unless the case against euthanasia is made strongly by Bible believing Christians, euthanasia could well become a reality across the world.