Understanding US thread-III

[komal]

comment in NYT


math elitist Pacific 6 hours ago

I don't think the Trump administration represents a change today, as much as it is a return to the longer arc of history as a white christian nation. If you are white european, by all means, this is your nation of immigrants.

The rest of us, time to smell the coffee and realize that the true color of "lady liberty" is white. I feel stupid to have bought into the myth even if not completely.

An argument can be made for internment of Japanese in WW2. An argument can be made for restricting entry to USA from nations that harbor terrorists.

However, that KSA and Pakistan -- the Alpha and Omega of state sponsored terrorism -- are excluded from the list shows that ban has more to do with raciim and feeding the racist base than any serious attempt to protect American lives.

[abhik]

Why this constant blow to modi trump ? Sit back, get some popcorn and ensoi, this is turning out to be more entertaining than the election.

[Melwyn]

^ Note that both Pakistan and Afghanistan are under "extreme vetting" category. This ban is for those nations where proper vetting cannot be done. Although, I am not sure what exactly has this "extreme" vetting actually achieved.

Not visa ban, 'extreme vetting' for Pakistan, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia: President Trump

Washington: US President Donald Trump in his first televised sit-down interview as US president has said Afghanistan, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are not among countries that will face a visa ban to enter the country.

However, citizens of these countries will face "extreme vetting", the US president said.

File photo of US President Donald Trump. AFPFile photo of US President Donald Trump. AFP
In an interview with ABC News, the US President was asked: "Why are we (America) going to allow people (from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan) to come into this country..."

To this, Trump answered, "We're going to have extreme vetting in all cases. And I mean extreme. And we're not letting people in if we think there's even a little chance of some problem."

"We are excluding certain countries. But for other countries, we're gonna have extreme vetting. It's going to be very hard to come in. Right now it's very easy to come in. It's gonna be very, very hard. I don't want terror in this country," he added.

[saip]

After 9/11 Pakis had very hard time coming in, so much so, my company execs had to fly to London to meet them half way. I hope those conditions are restored.

[Melwyn]

After 9/11 Pakis had very hard time coming in, so much so, my company execs had to fly to London to meet them half way. I hope those conditions are restored.

Insha-alla those times will upon them sooner than later.

[g.sarkar]

http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/28/politics/ ... index.html
Trump's immigration ban sends shockwaves
By Jeremy Diamond and Steve Almasy, CNN
Updated 11:07 PM ET, Sat January 28, 2017
Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump's seismic move to ban more than 130 million people from the United States and to deny entry to all refugees reverberated worldwide Saturday, as chaos and confusion rippled through US airports, American law enforcement agencies and foreign countries trying to grasp Washington's new policy.
Trump's executive order bars citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States for the next 90 days and suspends the admission of all refugees for 120 days.
Here are the latest developments of a day filled with airport detentions, protests and legal maneuvering:
• A federal judge in New York on Saturday night blocked the deportation of people stranded in US airports under the executive action. "The petitioners have a strong likelihood of success in establishing that the removal of the petitioner and other similarly situated violates their due process and equal protection guaranteed by the United States Constitution," US District Judge Ann Donnelly wrote in her decision.
......
Trump on Friday said that his actions would "keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States of America."
"We don't want them here," Trump said as he signed the order.
But those actions also hit green card holders, lawful permanent US residents, with heavy impact, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN. Those travelers also fell under the ban's heavy curtain, though they could apply for a waiver to enter the United States after traveling abroad.
But the senior DHS official told CNN that no green card holders were denied entry.
......

Gautam

[g.sarkar]

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/28/opin ... erous.html
The Opinion Pages | EDITORIAL
Donald Trump’s Muslim Ban Is Cowardly and Dangerous
By THE EDITORIAL BOARD JAN. 28, 2017
....
The order lacks any logic. It invokes the attacks of Sept. 11 as a rationale, while exempting the countries of origin of all the hijackers who carried out that plot and also, perhaps not coincidentally, several countries where the Trump family does business. The document does not explicitly mention any religion, yet it sets a blatantly unconstitutional standard by excluding Muslims while giving government officials the discretion to admit people of other faiths.
.....

Those countries that the terrorists of 9/11 came from should be banned first. I will in fact do a Donald Trump and say that I am not going to mention SA and Pak at all. Never.
Gautam

[g.sarkar]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... tive-order
Federal judge stays deportations under Trump Muslim country travel ban
A federal judge has granted a stay on deportations for people who arrived in the US with valid visas but were detained on entry, following President Donald Trump’s executive order to halt travel from seven Muslim-majority countries.
The stay is only a partial block to the broader executive order, with the judge stopping short of a broader ruling on its constitutionality. Nevertheless, it was an early, significant blow to the new administration.
Less than 24 hours after two Iraqi men were detained at John F Kennedy airport in New York on Saturday morning, Judge Ann Donnelly of the federal district court in Brooklyn ordered an emergency stay, blocking the deportation of any individual currently being held in airports across the United States.
“I think the government hasn’t had a full chance to think about this,” Donnelly told a packed courtroom.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other groups filed the lawsuit earlier on Saturday, challenging the detention of the two Iraqi men, with two more plaintiffs were later added to the suit, who were both valid US green-card holders. But the judge’s ruling extended to all individuals facing similar situations across the United States.
The two plaintiffs included two Iraqi refugees who had spent hours detained at JFK: Hameed Khalid Darweesh, who had worked for the US government for a decade, and Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, who arrived in the country to join his wife, a US contractor.
.....

Gautam

[Kashi]

After 9/11 Pakis had very hard time coming in, so much so, my company execs had to fly to London to meet them half way. I hope those conditions are restored.

Insha-alla those times will upon them sooner than later.

Given the proclivities of the Amreeki deep state, not bloody likely.

This is an entity that has caused the deaths of more Americans (outside actual wars) than the rest combined. What more needs to happen for the powers that be to finally deal with the Pakis as they wish to do with Assad or Iran?

[Singha]

I had made only one trip to ins office in boston to get a i94 stamped .... but anyway place seemed overflowing with tsp and middle east people most with lawyers...anti deportations..gc interviews...overstays....

These people have gamed the system fully to the detriment of desi types stuck dutifully in some long forgotten eb3 queue and wailing on murthy law forum

[komal]

Insha-alla those times will upon them sooner than later.

Given the proclivities of the Amreeki deep state, not bloody likely.

This is an entity that has caused the deaths of more Americans (outside actual wars) than the rest combined. What more needs to happen for the powers that be to finally deal with the Pakis as they wish to do with Assad or Iran?

Permission from PRC and KSA.

[Kashi]

Permission from PRC and KSA.

You mean that all US presidents and CIA chiefs and Pentagon honchos and Chiefs of staff or whatever they call them, need permission from KSA and PRC, to acknowledge what Pakistan truly is?

[komal]

I think they all know what Pakistan truly is. Any military action against Pakistan, however, requires permission from KSA and PRC.

DT can rail all he wants on Twitter to convince his supporters he is a real man. But as Bush (the Son) found out, military action against Pakistan is verboten.

[svenkat]

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/harford/aegis/ph-ag-immigration-0127-20170126-story.html

ce agencies in Harford County say they don't stop people just to check their immigration status, but the recent experience of a Bel Air woman raises questions about how clearly that's understood by officers on his streets, the town's police chief admits.

Bel Air Police Department Chief Charles Moore, who's led the agency since September 2015, said he's not sure if his department has a policy specifically dealing with questioning a person's immigration status, but added: "If there isn't one, there will be."


In the wake of President Trump's statements on Wednesday that federal grants may be withheld from so-called "sanctuary cities" that don't take enforcement actions against people who are in the United States illegally, Moore and other law enforcement leaders in the county could find they have to walk an even finer line between civil liberties and checking for undocumented aliens.

Woman's immigration status questioned by Bel Air police

On the morning of Dec. 21, Aravinda Pillalamarri was walking in her Bel Air neighborhood, where she walks all the time, when she said she was stopped by a Bel Air Police Department officer.

When she responded to his question about what she was doing – that she was walking – Pillalamarri says the questions continued.

When she asked why the officer was asking her so many questions, he replied because someone had called police.

"Walking while brown?" Pillalamarri said she then asked the officer.

A police supervisor arrived and began to question Pillalamarri, more aggressively, she said, and told her she wasn't free to leave because she "was under criminal investigation."

He asked why she didn't have identification with her.

"Why don't you have ID?" she said the supervisor asked her. "Are you here illegally?"

Once the officers had run her name through their computer system, Pillalamarri said, she was allowed to leave and walked to her home, just a few doors away.

Pillalamarri, 47, has lived in Bel Air for more than 30 years and is a U.S. citizen. Her parents came to America from India when she was a baby. She went to Bel Air High School.

She walks in her neighborhood nearly every day, she said.

She related her story to members of the Bel Air Board of Town commissioners at their town meeting Jan. 17, not to get anyone in trouble, she explained, but to bring to their attention the need to uphold everyone's civil rights.

Color was not on her mind when she was first stopped, Pillalamarri told the commissioners.

"Only when the supervisor asked 'are you here illegally' did my sense of color, and of being unequal, come forth and my interest in my civil rights take a back seat to get out of the situation safely," she said.

"Public safety does not need to come at the cost of civil rights," she continued. "I am sharing this incident here not to ask anyone here to find fault or take sides. We are all on the same side and can use this as an opportunity to learn and improve. The responsibility to uphold civil rights is one that all of us share, and we need to do our part and also expect the police to do their part."

Moore, who was present at the meeting, said his officers do not ask someone's immigration status, particularly during a routine call.

"That's not a concern of ours," Moore said Wednesday. "That's just not the proper protocol that I would take. And my officers, from what I've seen from their performance, I don't see that from them either."

Immigration status could come into play when someone is arrested, Moore said, but he added that would more likely be when they're taken to the Harford County Detention Center.

The Harford County Sheriff's Office, which runs the detention center and is the chief law enforcement agency for most of the county, does not ask for proof of citizenship when stopping or detaining someone. Deputies only ask for identification, according to Cristie Kahler, spokesperson for the agency.

"We do not have a policy that specifically requires deputies to ask for proof of citizenship," Kahler explained via email. "We do ask to see identification as a regular course of action during a motor vehicle or personal stop. Once they provide ID, we query the info through multiple databases. Should one of those databases provide an alert regarding the status of the individual, and indicate they have been flagged by immigration or federal authorities, we then contact that agency. That agency then provides direction on how to further handle the individual and whether or not to detain for further investigation."

"It doesn't matter to me where you're from, who you are, anything else. If you live in the town of Bel Air or you're in my jurisdiction, my position is to protect and serve everyone," the Bel Air PD's Moore said. "I'm not going to question who you are or where you came from. My job is to maintain and build trust among everyone."

In Pillalamarri's case, there had been a call about suspicious activity and the officers responded, he said.

"There could have been more sensitivity on the part of the officer," Moore told the town commissioners.

Pillalamarri said she was uncertain of what her rights were when the officers stopped her.

"Police are training in dealing with people when they stop them on the street, but ordinary people are not necessarily training in interacting with the police," she said to the commissioners. "I did not know when I was stopped whether I had the right to remain silent, whether I was being legally detained or what information I was required to give."

[Neshant]

Texas mosque burnt to the ground

https://www.yahoo.com/news/texas-mosque ... 02098.html

[Neshant]

I just had an insight into Trump movement in the USA.

It is a revolt of the American 'shudras' against American 'vaishyas', 'kshatriyas' and 'brahmanas'.

In 1970, a normal American 'shudra' was a blue collar factory worker who had a well paid reasonably good job, a simple one, like operating a lathe machine or welding. From that point on, it really went downhill from there. First, large amounts of factory work was outsourced to China and Mexico ( and other countries ). After that, technologies changed so much that a normal person with not much education could not really fit into them. Then everything got automated, so the modern factory does not require huge armies of workers.

It might be instructive to remember that vast amounts of US military industrial complex were made 'by hand'. Injector holes for Apollo rockets were drilled by hand, turbopumps for the rockets had parts welded together by hand. All these things are on record. Those who worked on them still remember it. American shudra handmade technology was considered good enough to land man on the moon. Now, everyone would want to do this stuff with CNC machines and computer controlled electron beam welding. The American shudra is being told that he's not good enough, or irrelevant.

American vaishyas ( investment bankers, MBAs, consultants, etc. ) screwed over the shudras by outsourcing everything to China and other countries. They made finance so complicated that in effect Wall Street fleeces the productive economy.

American brahmanas ( scientists, engineers, programmers, academics ) screwed over the shudras by automating everything and making the handmade work irrelevant. Furthermore, the ivory tower humanities type brahmanas have come up with insulting solutions- asking them to get low wage jobs at Walmart or to get hi-fi college degrees ( which everyone has neither aptitude nor money for ).

American Kshatriyas ( soldiers and administrators ) spent tons of money on wars that have no obvious benefit and came up with policies that don't benefit them at all.

The resentment of the American shudras against Wall street (vaishyas), Silicon Valley (brahmanas) and Washington DC(kshatriyas) reached boiling point. Adding to this of course is the rise of feminism and the total collapse of family system in the west.

Trump may rail against China and Mexico and promise to drain the swamp at Washington DC. But really what is he going to do about automation. AI and advanced robotics are poised to take millions of jobs in the near future. There won't be more factory workers, there'll be less. Obviously, we can't roll back the tide of technology and go back to the 1960s. This will be difficult to solve.

Excellent summary.

If the shudras can find no respite, they will rise up in violent ways to tear down the government.

Viashyas are already planning a preventative measure of "Guaranteed minimum income" aka money stolen from Brahmanas to be redistributed to shudras to keep them placated.

At the heart of this issue is who controls the monetary system and by extension the govt itself. Power needs to be taken away from banksters through violent means if necessary if productive society is to recover.

[Singha]

The slave revolt of rome led by spartacus joined by gladiators and farm slaves was brutally crushed after a series of battles and their bodies crucified and put up on the appian way for months

[Singha]

The shudras of america have the most rifles though and vaishyas the least...brahmanas somewhere in between.

Kshatriya foot soldiery are also ex shudra by birth kshatriya by profession.

[A_Gupta]

Trumpistas should read this: https://lawfareblog.com/malevolence-tem ... -and-visas

Let’s start with the malevolence of the document, which Amira Mikhail summarized and Adham Sahloul analyzed earlier today. I don’t use the word “malevolence” here lightly. As readers of my work know, I believe in strong counterterrorism powers. I defend non-criminal detention. I’ve got no problem with drone strikes. I’m positively enthusiastic about American surveillance policies. I was much less offended than others were by the CIA’s interrogations in the years after September 11. I have defended military commissions.

"Malevolence Tempered by Incompetence: Trump’s Horrifying Executive Order on Refugees and Visas"

Quote:
One might argue, I suppose, that the document is tied to current threats. But come now, how could Pakistan not be on a list guided by current threat perception?

[UlanBatori]

The federal judge took a big risk. Her career is shot for at least four years. But I guess the POTUS did not think through.

Judge halts implementation of Trump's immigration order

Linnk

OTOH, check "Judge Seneca". I don't think he made it into the Supreme Court either, but I don't think he is/was sorry about that. Pretty blunt Stay Order. First sentence says bluntly, strong likelihood that the President violated the Constitution. Good for her. (probably a HiC supporter, being in Noo Yoik and all, but a brave and honest judge nevertheless).
Awaiting the Twit-tweet saying wimmen judges no good even if they are not Mexicans.

[UlanBatori]

I think they all know what Pakistan truly is. Any military action against Pakistan, however, requires permission from KSA and PRC.
DT can rail all he wants on Twitter to convince his supporters he is a real man. But as Bush (the Son) found out, military action against Pakistan is verboten.

BO promised in his campaign that he would "Bomb Pahkistahn". Pakis celebrated because finally there was a POTUS who could pronounce the slum name correctly instead of Pack-e-Stan.

BO did bomb Pahkistahn. Using Predators and Hellfires. Hundreds of them.

[Singha]

Supporters of the affected nations are now loudly asking in public spaces ..what did we do...and if we be punished why are ksa and tsp not in the hitlist lol

[IndraD]

csaurabh that was a good analogy explaining churning in US, I shared it with few on wapp as well and people seem to agree.

[A_Gupta]

US Code says: " An alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States shall not be regarded as seeking an admission into the United States for purposes of the immigration laws..." (With a list of exceptions, including absence from the US for more than 180 days, illegal activities and such).

The text of Trump's order does not make it clear whether the new rules apply to permanent residents - because prior law says they are typically not seeking admission when they cross the border into the US "for purposes of immigration laws".

[UlanBatori]

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/01/25/autos ... index.html
days of N3's youth in the golden age of amrika (if you were middle class or rich white/STEM academic from other parts of world)

Don't know about that - too far ahead, sorry, but my Evil 6th coujin used to have a 1972 Pontiac Catalina 2-door, with a 400cu in (not cc) 8-cyl V-8. Not bought in 1972, but circa 1980. 66,000 miles. After the insurance company had paid off the prior owner's claim (it was 3rd hand for him) as totalled. E6C put on a "new" rusted fender of a different color on the crashed side (spray paint is just not the same as original car paint), ripped out the pieces that had torn into the tire, a carpet-runner piece as the parking light cover, and it was as good as new. Polis came by as this surgery was going on at the university lab, they wanted to know if there were stolen goods in the trunk. (No, it was the govt-owned tools that were taken from the lab w/o permission, but they didn't care or didn't ask , went away embarrassed at the total innocence of the perps. The guy at the Shop asked to give the roadworthiness certificate (scam in existence then) took one look at the carpet-runner covering the light fixture anc called his boss - but E6C pointed out that this was new technology, shatterproof and all. Better than the original. Got the certificate. First time merging on to the Interstate in horror, foot pressed down, it went from 0 to 75 (mph) before E6C could take a breath of relief and look at the speed gauge and wonder why everyone else was so slow. Curiously, ppl stayed a respectful distance - may have had something to do with the rusted multicolor fender. Cruised another 40,000 miles, mostly highway before the carburettor gave out. Oh what a car! The seats were made for Size 60 musharrafs to lean back and get their bellies under the steering wheel. The engine noise was better than a Harley, esp. after it got warmed up by Interstate driving. Positively purred. Handled like a sports car that it was, on mountain roads, but was smooth as silk on the highway (a wheel base like a ship helps..)

A great American Model Year, 1972. By the early 1980s import cars were junk. (so were most American cars, but not the 1972 Pontiac Catalina). Left turn at a stop light with A/C on, the New American Small Chevrolet (Chevette?) would stall. Ford Pinto would catch fire. Ford Escort literally came to 1mph with pedal to the floor trying to make it up Pike's Peak (14,000 ft) b4 E6C gave up. Audis would go backward if you tried to go forward. VWs usually had their engine compartment open because they needed fixing so often. Datsuns were big enough for cats to travel in comfort. The AMC Gremlin looked cool standing still but that was about it.

DT should bring back the Pontiac Catalina, but even the Pontiac model is kaput I think.

[A_Gupta]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38787241

President Donald Trump is reshuffling the US National Security Council (NSC), downgrading the military chiefs of staff and giving a regular seat to his chief strategist Steve Bannon.

Mr Bannon, formerly the head of the populist right-wing, Breitbart News website, will join high-level discussions about national security.

The order was signed on Saturday.

The director of national intelligence and the joint chiefs will attend when discussions pertain to their areas.

Under previous administrations, the director and joint chiefs attended all meetings of the NSC's inner circle, the principals' committee.

[komal]

I think they all know what Pakistan truly is. Any military action against Pakistan, however, requires permission from KSA and PRC.
DT can rail all he wants on Twitter to convince his supporters he is a real man. But as Bush (the Son) found out, military action against Pakistan is verboten.

BO promised in his campaign that he would "Bomb Pahkistahn". Pakis celebrated because finally there was a POTUS who could pronounce the slum name correctly instead of Pack-e-Stan.

BO did bomb Pahkistahn. Using Predators and Hellfires. Hundreds of them.

USA most likely sought and obtained permission from KSA / PRC for bombing via drones remote areas of Pakistan. Permission to send cruise missiles to ISI HQ and bungalows of retired ISI was not granted.

The raid to get OBL was sanctioned but Obama had to leave a stealth helicopter behind as baksheesh.

[komal]

Supporters of the affected nations are now loudly asking in public spaces ..what did we do...and if we be punished why are ksa and tsp not in the hitlist lol

The loudest laughter is at ISI HQ. Hopefully Putin will put an end to this nonsense and Pakistan will presently be added to the list.

[UlanBatori]

President Donald Trump is reshuffling the US National Security Council (NSC), downgrading the military chiefs of staff and giving a regular seat to his chief strategist Steve Bannon.

Hmm!! Beginning to sound like Saddam Hussein's or A**** H*****'s National Security Councils, hain?

As for TSP, the hyenas are howling in DC that the Zee has left out nations where he has bijnej. I think KSA is safe (too rich) but TSP and BD are heading for that List as sacrifice. hope India stays out. Someone (who should keep his mouth shut) pointed out that when DT says nice things about India, it is not about "INDIA" but "Indian (Another Community)". To quote Dunn:

Therefore do not send to ask for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for thee.

I think the GC thing was a super-SNAFU and is going to get hammered in the courts. They really walked into that.

[Gus]

Why this constant blow to modi trump ? Sit back, get some popcorn and ensoi, this is turning out to be more entertaining than the election.

Well it is all shits and giggles until something happens to one of us.

Already one nutcase bought into fake news about a pizza shop and carried out violence. One community I know had flyers put in their mailboxes where it said now that trump has won - indians need to leave.

Fire looks fun from far.

[A_Gupta]

Trump intends to run his presidency in campaign mode:
http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg? ... 41436569+0

He's already filed for his candidacy in 2020 within five hours of inauguration. This is not normal. Most incumbent Presidents running for reelection file an year before the election. There are apparently implications for Political Action Committees, political donors and non-profits related to campaigns. E.g., tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organizations can speak out against a President; but not against a candidate or campaign.

https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profi ... anizations

Under the Internal Revenue Code, all section 501(c)(3) organizations are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office. Contributions to political campaign funds or public statements of position (verbal or written) made on behalf of the organization in favor of or in opposition to any candidate for public office clearly violate the prohibition against political campaign activity. Violating this prohibition may result in denial or revocation of tax-exempt status and the imposition of certain excise taxes.

[Yagnasri]

White racism is always there in the US ( and the West) and still knowingly or unknowingly, non-whites from other nations went and living there. Now when whites started to openly look down on non-whites citizens of the US why it should be a surprise to anyone? Some of the non-whites, at least few from India who got US passport, look down on the nations where they were born. They also sometimes share the White world view that non-whites were sub-humans and they, because of their US passport become brown or black sahebs. Now they, unfortunately, face the real picture of the US and white world. EU nations are not going to be far behind.

[IndraD]

Why this constant blow to modi trump ? Sit back, get some popcorn and ensoi, this is turning out to be more entertaining than the election.

Well it is all shits and giggles until something happens to one of us.

Already one nutcase bought into fake news about a pizza shop and carried out violence. One community I know had flyers put in their mailboxes where it said now that trump has won - indians need to leave.

Fire looks fun from far.

+1

[IndraD]

Interesting times ahead: UK post Brexit needs US more than ever

Boris Johnson: US immigration order divisive and wrong.

More than 250,000 people have signed a petition calling for the US President to be prevented from making a state visit to the United Kingdom, in just a few hours.

The UK government responds to all petitions that receive more than 10,000 signatures, and at 100,000 signatures it must consider them for debate in Parliament.

[IndraD]

Trump puts Bannon on security council, dropping joint chiefs

President Donald Trump is reshuffling the US National Security Council (NSC), downgrading the military chiefs of staff and giving a regular seat to his chief strategist Steve Bannon.
Mr Bannon, formerly the head of the populist right-wing, Breitbart News website, will join high-level discussions about national security.
The order was signed on Saturday.
The director of national intelligence and the joint chiefs will attend when discussions pertain to their areas.
Under previous administrations, the director and joint chiefs attended all meetings of the NSC's inner circle, the principals' committee

[IndraD]

Ali case making splash in media

Ali worked for three years as an interpreter for the US Army and gained admittance to the US through a Special Immigrant Visa, reserved for Iraqi and Afghan nationals who face threats of violence for working for Americans during the conflicts there.
He now has a green card, and returned to Iraq for his father's funeral, only to be delayed for hours for questioning at Dulles.
"We are not terrorists. We are not bad people," said Ali. "It's so hard. I hope they will change their minds on this position."

[Lalmohan]

this thread has replaced the BENIS thread for the most amusement value on BRF

[komal]

Trump puts Bannon on security council, dropping joint chiefs

President Donald Trump is reshuffling the US National Security Council (NSC), downgrading the military chiefs of staff and giving a regular seat to his chief strategist Steve Bannon.
Mr Bannon, formerly the head of the populist right-wing, Breitbart News website, will join high-level discussions about national security.
The order was signed on Saturday.
The director of national intelligence and the joint chiefs will attend when discussions pertain to their areas.
Under previous administrations, the director and joint chiefs attended all meetings of the NSC's inner circle, the principals' committee

Had Obama done this, there would calls for his immediate impeachment by the GOP.

[kiranA]

Ali case making splash in media

Ali worked for three years as an interpreter for the US Army and gained admittance to the US through a Special Immigrant Visa, reserved for Iraqi and Afghan nationals who face threats of violence for working for Americans during the conflicts there.
He now has a green card, and returned to Iraq for his father's funeral, only to be delayed for hours for questioning at Dulles.
"We are not terrorists. We are not bad people," said Ali. "It's so hard. I hope they will change their minds on this position."

It is a tragic position of many non-white peoples even now that their lives depend on whims and minds of western white people. Their careers are given usually after they make huge sacrifices but their careers are taken away (and in some cases imprisoned) in the stroke of a minute for no fault other than they share a particular demography. Legally maybe nothing wrong but offensive to anyone who has a moral bone in his body.

India should emulate countries like China, Singapore, Korea so millions of its citizens dont need to hang on to a visa for their careers.

[zoverian]

White racism is always there in the US ( and the West) and still knowingly or unknowingly, non-whites from other nations went and living there. Now when whites started to openly look down on non-whites citizens of the US why it should be a surprise to anyone? Some of the non-whites, at least few from India who got US passport, look down on the nations where they were born. They also sometimes share the White world view that non-whites were sub-humans and they, because of their US passport become brown or black sahebs. Now they, unfortunately, face the real picture of the US and white world. EU nations are not going to be far behind.

+1