The Swedish municipality of Hässleholm, which took in nearly 3,000 asylum seekers in three years, faces an economic crisis as up to 80 per cent remain on welfare.

Another Swedish Municipality That Took In Migrants Faces Economic Crisis578

JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP/Getty

CHRIS TOMLINSON

31 Aug 2019535

2:40

The Swedish municipality of Hässleholm, which took in nearly 3,000 asylum seekers in three years, faces an economic crisis as up to 80 per cent remain on welfare.

Hässleholm City Council chairman Lars Johnsson, a member of the centre-right Moderate Party, said that the Swedish municipality has at least 100 migrants who are illiterate and another 200 with very poor educational backgrounds, saying, “It will in principle be impossible to get them to work,” Kristianstadsbladet reports.

Social assistance costs have drastically increased since 2012, rising from 32 million Swedish krona ($3,259,680/£2,680,320) to 54 million ($5,501,124/£4,523,310) this year. They are predicted to increase by another six million each year.

The municipality says they put away around 30 million krona to cope with the projected costs but already half of that has been spent.

“We would need 100 million krona from the state to go injury-free, to keep our noses above the surface,” Johnsson said.

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Swedish Municipality That Took Too Many Migrants Faces Bankruptcy https://trib.al/T0Skpt9 

Swedish Municipality That Took Too Many Migrants Faces Bankruptcy

The Swedish municipality of Bengtsfors has petitioned the government for aid after taking in more migrants than the municipality could afford.

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The main issue behind the crisis is the expiration of the establishment period; a two-year term in which the Swedish national government covers the costs of housing and integrating migrants.

Local Social Democrat politician Lena Wallentheim complained that the period is simply not long enough to integrate migrants into the labour market, saying, “When the Employment Service withdraws, it becomes a double blow. The costs then fall on the municipality, in the form of support grants.”

City Council chairman Johnsson went on to admit the issue should have been tackled years ago, saying, “the fear of discussing the issue has been devastating. It is unfortunate that we have not been able to discuss soberly without the racist card coming out.”

The crisis comes only weeks after the municipality of Bengtsfors petitioned the national government for money, claiming they had taken in far more migrants than the local government could now afford and were facing potential bankruptcy.

Stig Bertilsson, a local Moderate Party politician in Bengtsfors was asked if migrants could help ease the burden by getting jobs and paying income taxes, but he admitted that while he hoped for a long term boost in tax revenue, it had so far not arrived.

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Sweden Opens Door to Increased Chain Migration https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/06/21/swedish-parliament-opens-door-increased-chain-migration/ …

Sweden Opens Door to Increased Chain Migration

The Swedish parliament has voted in favour of making it easier for Syrian migrants and refugees to bring family members to the country.

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Let's cheer them onReports: Mainland Chinese Joining Pro-Democracy Hong Kong Protesters

Reports: Mainland Chinese Joining Pro-Democracy Hong Kong Protesters

ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP/Getty Images

KRISTINA WONG

30 Aug 2019276

3:34

China’s worst nightmare may be happening: Mainland Chinese citizens are now participating in pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, according to recent reports.

Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that a “small cohort of mainlanders have joined the demonstrations, taking extraordinary risks to support a society that offers freedoms unavailable back home.”

“My understanding is that ‘one country, two systems’ is a creative set of ideals,” a 24-year-old Chinese graduate student living in Hong Kong with the last name Chen told the paper. “Now those ideals are threatened.”

The mainlanders said they value Hong Kong’s autonomy from Chinese control and have joined marches, signed open letters supporting Hong Kong, and defended the movement on social media.

Their participation is an indication that the movement could spread to mainland China, despite attempts by the government to brand the Hong Kong protesters as traitors.

Chinese authorities are reportedly checking travelers’ smartphones as they reenter China for evidence of participation in the demonstrations.

Another mainland Chinese citizen who took part in the protests has fled to Taiwan where he is hoping to stay, according to a report by Radio Free Asia.

Zhang Wen, 47, who is sleeping on the streets in Taipei after he abandoned a tour group he arrived with, told the outlet, “I definitely don’t want to go back to mainland China now … So I have two options: I can either apply to extend my visa here, or I can apply for political asylum.”

Zhang said he crossed into Hong Kong several times in June and July to take part in the protests. He reportedly has video of himself storming the Hong Kong Legislative Council building.

“The risk that I will be caught for my support for the anti-extradition protests is very high,” he told Radio Free Asia. “I will definitely get arrested for the storming of LegCo, because some people have been detained just for posting that they support the anti-extradition movement online.”

The protesters have been protesting the encroachment of Beijing on their freedoms following the United Kingdom’s handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997.

China and the United Kingdom signed a treaty in 1984 that agreed to a 50-year time period after the handover wherein Hong Kong would enjoy some political and social autonomy under a “one country, two systems” policy, ending in 2049.

However, since then, pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong say they have faced an erosion of that autonomy by Beijing. In 2014, Hong Kong residents were forced to choose their next chief executive from a list of candidates vetted by Beijing, which sparked protests known as the Umbrella Movement.

The recent protests were sparked by a proposed bill that would allow those charged with crimes in Hong Kong to be extradited to the mainland where they could face harsher punishment under an opaque justice system.

The bill was tabled, but Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam has refused to withdraw it altogether, fueling continued protests throughout the summer that risk a violent crackdown by Chinese troops reminiscent of the brutal 1989 crackdown in Tiananmen Square.

Still, most mainlanders in Hong Kong share the Chinese government’s antipathy against the protesters, and some have even fought against the protesters, as the WSJ also reported.

The Chinese government have portrayed the protesters as violent extremists and have accused the U.S. of being behind the protests. Some protesters have carried the American flag as a symbol of freedom.

Satanic Temple: 'More Than 50% of Our Membership is LGBTQ'

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By Michael W. Chapman | August 30, 2019 | 5:16 PM EDT 

(Screenshot, The Satanic Temple)

In an interview with the British magazine Attitude, Lucien Greaves, the co-founder of The Satanic Temple in the United States, says that "more than 50% of our membership is LGBTQ," and that is a "conservative estimate."

Attitude is a best-selling gay magazine, founded in 1994. The Satanic Temple was founded in 2013 and it promotes a secular humanist agenda. The Temple, based in Salem, Mass.,  denies that there is an actual Satan and it claims that it does not worship the Devil. 

Lucien Greaves, co-founder of The Satanic Temple. (Getty Images.)

“It would be a conservative estimate to say that more than 50 per cent of our membership is LGBTQ," Greaves told Attitude. “I think that’s because they feel disowned and disenfranchised from the traditional religious institutions."

“So, you have a population willing to embrace a religious identification that is boldly willing to speak out to the contrary," he said. 

“Within the Satanic Temple, we’re all pretty much one and the same," said Greaves. "We’re all Satanists and it’s not like we have ‘tolerance’ for trans people or gay people or sex workers -- we just don’t f***ing care, and a lot of people in those communities appreciate that.”

Greaves, a pseudonym he uses reportedly to protect his family from death threats, went on to say that The Satanic Temple often participates in LGBT Pride parades and supports LGBT initiatives.

A documentary on The Satanic Temple, entitled "Hail Satan?" was recently released. 

“Our chapters are always involved with Pride parades in the United States, they’re always doing something for the LGBTQ community and they’re always open about inclusion," Greaves told Attitude. 

He further said that The Satanic Temple supports abortion, as well as the gay agenda, and will fight attempts to roll back Roe v. Wade or laws that affect homosexuals. 

Satanic tumblers for sale at the "Shop Satan" page on The Satanic Temple website. (Screenshot)

“We will always fight them," he said.  "We will fight them to the death to ensure that there are equal rights for the gay community.”

The comments by Lucien Greaves were initially pubished in the Aug. 23 online edition of Attitude. 

Africa Village Public Market Project...in Minneapolis.

Chaos erupts at meeting about proposed Minneapolis development

Updated: August 30, 2019 10:37 PM

Tension boiled over at an open house for a Minneapolis development project Friday night.

The city wants to create an Africa Village Market in the Cedar Riverside Neighborhood. The building, which could be 10 stories high, would replace a parking lot on Fourth Street S., according to city officials. Construction is anticipated to start in 2021 and the marketplace would open in 2022.

“So much of the vision is still to be created,” said Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. “This could be everything from affordable housing, to small entrepreneur space to allow small and local businesses to scale a great idea faster.”

According to the city, it could also include sidewalk improvements, public plaza space and more greenery.

The city asked what the community wants to see in the space during an open house at the Brian Coyle Center on Friday.

“I think in theory it brings a lot of good things to the community," said Mohamed Salad, who lives in the neighborhood.

He said, however, many feel left out of the conversation and think this might not be the best use of the space.

“I just kind of think that it’s a lot easier and a lot simpler to invest in community centers like this, and to invest in businesses that are already here, we already have two malls,” he said.

“This whole community is already jammed up and clogged and it's right next to two train stations and downtown. It's just going to make everything more congested.”

Salad helped collect signatures for a petition opposing the project.

It’s been a concern for the owner of Red Sea Bar and Restaurant, located next to the parking lot.

“Without assurance of parking, we might not be in business,” said Russom Solomon, the co-owner. “We might be pushed out.”

Dozens of people packed into the community center to protest the plans, holding signs and yelling.

Africa Village Public Market Project

Council Member Abdi Warsame attempted to separate the group. He asked those who support the plan to stand on one side of the gym and those who oppose the project to stand on the other side.

The crowd didn't calm down, gathering around Mayor Frey when he arrived.

“We are here and we're not going to be dismissed,” said Fartune Del, co-president of the neighborhood group NRP. “We need our voice to be heard.”

Frey told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that the idea for the market came from people who live there.

“We had heard from community, I mean tons and tons of people that were saying that they wanted the opportunity be entrepreneurs,” he said.

Despite other malls in the area, Frey said he believes this brings something new.

“We want a space that is ultimately managed, and run, and even potentially owned by the community itself and that's not something we have yet,” he said.

The project website said it would be “replacing a parking lot which has a history of crime and public safety issues.”

When asked about it, Frey said, “You’ve heard it before, this is not my saying, the best way to stop a bullet is a job. The best way to reduce crime is to have people on the streets, the best way to create safety is to have positive mechanisms to which whole communities can rally around entrepreneurship and economic growth.”

He said the project is still in the very early stages, and the city hasn't drafted the request for proposals yet.

According to Frey, there will be other opportunities for public comment before the RFP is issued, which is expected in October.

The project website said there will be “preference to proposals that include public parking.”

Meanwhile, the community is extending an invitation to elected officials.

“Come and have a one-on-one with all of us and I promise you, you'll have a certain outlook on what we want and what we need,” said Salad. “I think it's just really better for the city and us to just have that dialogue and understanding of each other.”

Might cancelling all medical debt do grievous harm to to the hospitals and doctors who hold the debt? Bernie fast track to Venezuelan economics. If you think his tax rise estimates are credible I have a bridge....

Sen. Sanders preps a plan to 'end all medical debt' in US

By Brittany De LeaPublished August 30, 2019Bernie SandersFOXBusiness

• FacebookTwitterPrintSanders says Medicare-for-all plan would involve tax hike

Washington Examiner commentary writer Becket Adams on Sen. Bernie Sanders' Medicare-for-all plan and the investigation into the origins of the Russia probe.

In addition to canceling student loan debt, Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders will introduce a new proposal to eliminate Americans’ medical debt.

During a town hall in South Carolina on Friday, the 2020 presidential hopeful said he is working on legislation to “end all medical debt in this country.”

“The bottom line is it is an insane and cruel system, which says to people that they have to go deeply into debt or go bankrupt because of what? Because they came down with cancer or they came down with heart disease or they came down with Alzheimer’s, or whatever,” Sanders told reporters. “In the midst of a dysfunctional health care system, what we have got to do is say that you cannot go bankrupt … because you got terribly sick.”

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BERNIE SANDERS WANTS WALL STREET TO PAY FOR AMERICA'S STUDENT LOAN DEBT
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It is unclear how Sanders plans to pay for the proposal. A spokesperson for Sanders’ campaign did not immediately return FOX Business’ request for comment.
He has said that taxes on the middle-class will rise in order to fund the plan, but has added that overall health care costs will be lower. The senator has estimated taxes could increase by $10,000 for American families.
Sanders has also proposed canceling $1.6 trillion worth of student loan debt, which he plans to pay for by introducing a financial transaction tax on Wall Street. The “Inclusive Prosperity Act” calls for a tax of 0.5 percent for stock trades, 0.1 percent for bonds and 0.005 percent for derivatives. A $1,000 stock trade would be taxed $5, while a $1,000 trade in derivatives would be taxed $0.05.