Greece: 6,000 detained during raids on immigrants

Written by Paul Fromm

Friday, 10 August 2012 07:42

* Greece: 6,000 detained during raids on immigrants * *When will Canada and the U.S. get serious? We should round up, detain and then deport all illegals. Employers hiring illegals, an act which deprives our citizens of jobs and screws down wages, should be charged, fIned and jailed.* ** *It's time to put OUR people and OUR countries first!* ** ** *Paul Fromm* *Director* *CANADA FIRST IMMIGRATION REFORM COMMITTEE* NICHOLAS PAPHITIS - The Associated Press ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Authorities in Greece are rounding up thousands of suspected illegal immigrants in a large-scale deportation drive to combat what a government official compared to a prehistoric invasion. Greece has long been Europe's main entry point for illegal immigrants from Asia and Africa seeking a better life in the West. But Greece's severe economic problems and high unemployment are making the problem worse than ever. Police said Monday that 6,000 people were detained over the weekend in Athens in a massive operation incongruously named after the ancient Greek god of hospitality, Zeus Xenios. *Officers across the city were seen stopping mostly African and Asian people in the street for identification checks. Most were only briefly detained, but about 1,600 were arrested for illegally entering Greece and sent to holding centers pending deportation.* Left-wing opposition parties criticized the crackdown, while the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees voiced concern that migrants from war-torn countries and genuine asylum-seekers could be denied the right of protection. *Some 100,000 illegal immigrants are estimated to slip into Greece every year, mostly from neighboring Turkey, and up to a million are believed to live in Greece, which has an official population of about 10 million.* *The uncontrolled influx, which coincided with a recent spike in crime, contributed to the sharp rise of an extreme-right political party which uses aggressive rhetoric against immigrants.* *Once beyond the pale of Greek politics, the extreme right Golden Dawn gained nearly 7 percent of the vote in parliamentary elections six weeks ago. Mainstream parties also pledged to curtail immigrant flows.* *Public Order Minister Nikos Dendias said Monday the rounding-up of illegal immigrants would continue, arguing that their unchecked entry has brought Greece "to the brink of collapse."* *"The country is being lost," he told private Skai TV. "What is happening now is (Greece's) greatest invasion ever. Since the Dorian invasion some 3,000 years ago, the country has never received such a flow of immigration." * Ancient tradition linked the invasion of Greek-speaking Dorian tribes with the end of the heroic Mycenaean age, although historians believe that the Mycenaean palatial civilization was brought down by financial and social unrest. Dendias said arrested immigrants will be temporarily held at police academy buildings in northern Greece, which are closed for the summer, and at a detention center outside Athens. He claimed that by the end of the year Greece will be able to detain up to 10,000 people. "Whoever is arrested will be held and then deported," he said. The Greek office of the U.N. High Commission for refugees said that while Greece has the right to carry out checks on immigrants, it should ensure that vulnerable groups do not suffer. "People who truly need protection must be able to request it," said Petros Mastakas, associate protection officer at the UNHCR office in Athens. "It is very difficult, practically impossible, for asylum seekers to apply for protected status, and we are concerned that among those arrested there may be people who want protection but were unable to submit their requests because access to the relevant authorities is practically impossible," he said. http://home.core.com/home/article.php?category=breaking&article=17534292aee440dba0e6de1636a6be7a

 

Refuting the Smear of Germany at the Opening Ceremonies of the London Olympics

Written by Paul Fromm

Wednesday, 08 August 2012 20:11

*Refuting the Smear of Germany at the Opening Ceremonies of the London Olympics*

 

Sean Penn -- Chavez & Caracas

Written by Paul Fromm

Wednesday, 08 August 2012 08:30

*Sean Penn -- Chavez & Caracas* A long-time supporter reports: "I was in Caracas for a couple weeks last June when *El Nacional* reported 2,300 murders for the Venezuelan capital for the first 5 months of 2012. Back home in Alberta in early July, Calgary reported (with a shudder of revulsion) its 6th murder of 2012 -- a gangland slaying of an Vietnamese thug in a turf war in a Vietnamese restaurant. Meanwhile Sean Penn is all gung ho on H ugo Chavez and his re-election campaign for the Venezuelan presidency: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2012/08/07/sean-penn-campaigns-hugo-chavezs-reelection-venezuela#ixzz22rtWu69E Note to Sean Penn: *Why not give serious consideration to doing a free-wheeling walkabout in the barrios to show support your candidate*.?" Sean Penn Campaigns for Hugo Chavez's Reelection in Venezuela By Noel Sheppard <http://newsbusters.org/bios/noel-sheppard> | August 07, 2012 | 09:49 471 241Reddit17 36 *A A* [image: Noel Sheppard's picture]<http://newsbusters.org/bios/noel-sheppard> Venezuelan despot Hugo Chavez is one of America's sworn enemies. Despite this, actor Sean Penn visited Venezuela Sunday to campaign for one of the world's most despised dictators. Reuters reports<http://ca.news.yahoo.com/sean-penn-joins-chavez-campaign-venezuela-020559487.html> : U.S. actor Sean Penn joined President Hugo Chavez at an election rally in Venezuela on Sunday, bringing a dash of Hollywood to the campaign as he rode with him atop a truck past cheering supporters. Penn is a friend of Chavez, who hopes to win a new six-year term on October 7. The campaign has turned into the toughest fight of the president's political career. "Thank you very much for visiting us again, dear friend," Chavez said after introducing Penn to the big crowd in the central city of Valencia. "We're all Americans, from the north, the center, the south. Long live the American continent!" Penn, in a white shirt and sunglasses and accompanied by Argentine producer Fernando Sulichin, waved from the stage, fist-bumped and hugged Chavez, but did not address the rally. <http://www.newsbusters.org/donate> Here's a video of the rally with Penn being affectionately introduced by Chavez: Penn's support of Chavez was big news in Venezuela: As the United States would love to see Chavez defeated in this election, it is disgraceful that one of America's sworn enemies can count on support from such a high profile U.S. citizen Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2012/08/07/sean-penn-campaigns-hugo-chavezs-reelection-venezuela#ixzz22wOnDJCQ