#smyer is not allowed

[imintoodeeptostop]

i wish we had scene of uncle jasper & auntie alice taking renegade shopping,,,

imagine alice picking out the most stylish outfits she could put together in the most high end stores

jasper just watching her with pure love and feeding off her positive vibes

their chucky-like niece casually scaring the fuck out of other customers while browsing

at one point jasper managed to sneak in a cowboy hat and some boots into their basket

alice was fuming and said she hated it

though she confessed to herself later that it was actually kinda adorable

obviously edward heard and ratted her tf out to her husband who was ~estatic~

from then on he demanded he and alice wear matching ‘husband & wife’ cowboy hats wherever they go

[teamjacobthot]

I can't help but think of how bella grew up having to take care of her mother and how with Edward she had to be sorry for being human (in NM she apologies for bleeding when she gets hurt with Jake) and even with Charlie she's taking care of him but with Jake she's allowed to be a teenager and human and unapologetic and yet somehow he's not the best for her????? Like smyer really wrote Jake being one of if not the healthiest relationship in Bella's life and then made him fall in love with her monster baby.

listennnn when I catch smeyer someday-

[big-idiot-wolf-boys]

The cullens are make believe people

The Quiluetes are actual people being demonized as mongrels and dogs

If Jacob wants to use words like parasite, leech, blooducker etc let him do so because that’s what vampires do and vampires never had a race connection

Yes! And honestly? Smyers vampires do have a race connotation. IN the illustrated guide smyer talks about how when someone turns into a vampire, the transformation turns them white.

She fought with the director of twilight about allowing Laurent to be played by a black actor, and only added vampires of color into the series in Breaking Dawn, which came out only a few months before the first twilight movie dropped, (i think smyer has a cameo in twilight (2008) where shes writing BD on her laptop) so you can see the implication there about her argument with Ms Hardwicke making her feel like she had to add vampires of other races and ethnicities to her series.

That, combined with the colonizer vibes that the Cullens specifically give off, makes me feel like jacob is 100% in his right to call the vamps whatever he wants to. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[lilianascolorexploration]

Pinned up work during the mid-semester break.

The History of Albert Park

As I was researching the history of Albert Park, I came across a website that talked about bringing Maori culture back to the Albert park through a two-week exhibition in the keeper’s cottage. It was interesting to learn that before European settlement, the Albert park we see today used to have an ancient stream running through Albert Park called Te Puna o Waiariki (The Spring of Waiariki). And this stream was once a significant natural resource for Maori ancestors. However, they are all piped underground, and there’s no acknowledgement of the original inhabitants of the pā. As European arrived in Auckland, we can imagine the process of development in Albert park, stripping away native trees, piping of the stream, transforming this place into a military barrack and later on, a Victorian-style park to honour that British colonial and commanders. And thus, a lot of the Maori elements have disappeared. All this information is retrieved from https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/contemporary-maori-artists-bring-history-back-to-aucklands-albert-park/3KHVNVZ75YGAOVPOCBDKT4MOHI/?fbclid=IwAR303tE8Ev6woLlUsedYQ_pm9uw4vrWpFgCyYwJqzC4wYoRy9PQtD-zzgew

The start to thinking many possible ideas:

This leads me to think that it would be a great idea to bring Maori culture back to Albert Park through weaving and building a pavilion that could host events, arrange workshops, and performances to showcase the Maori culture.

As I walk around CBD and the site, Public tables and seats are everywhere. Anyone can easily find a place in public areas such as cafes. What if we offer a different way of sitting and communicating with friends in Albert Park. As I walked along the footpath in Albert park, I came across someone who brought their matt to sit under a tree. This reminded me of the Maori way of sitting in the outdoors and weaving.

What if I invite the public to weave. It is a meditative process, relaxing and takes time. What if I force them to come back to revisit the pavilion.

I can also allow the public to contribute to the structure by implementing small holes to insert their finished or unfinished flax weave flower. It can be like a vase, a metal strip moulded into a small hole. Insert like a vase.

Leaving their craft on the structure is satisfying as they go back home knowing they have done something special.

Think about the colour of the flax that it will look like after a certain amount of time. Over time, the flax wilts, displaying the wilted beauty, like how beautiful autumn can be.

Weaving in Maori traditional culture are usually done in the outdoors on the ground. Make people sit on one big matt- meaning unity, and it encourages communication/community. Connect with the earth 🌎 as the distance between our core body and the Earth decreases. Be intimate with the land.

Rough program from the entrance: as you enter the pavilion, take shoes off, sit on matt. Or make mats for individual seatings in case of covid-19 social distancing.

Program: Chill back on the ground, lie down and be evoked by emotions from the various mingled colours on the structure. Or take a nap.

After a one-on-one session with Noora, we decided to simplify or narrow down my ideas into a straightforward concept, that is, to bring native plants back to Albert Park. If I held onto the direction of incorporating Maori elements into the pavilion, I would have to face the Te Aranga principles. After reading a case study that talks about how the Te Aranga Principles is implemented into the design process for Commercial Bay, I learnt that the real-life design process is complicated and needs a careful approach to the project. I would need to implement the Te Aranga Māori design principles into my project and work closely with Mana Whenua or a Māori design facilitator, whose job is to help us learn the important stories the site has to tell with appropriate design elements. This would’ve been challenging for students like me.

Although I couldn’t find any images way before European settled in Albert park, I could feel and imagine how Albert park used to be. The original Albert park would have been a busy complex forest covered with native flora and fauna- birds flying freely and animals roaming under and above the ground. There would’ve also been a wetland that housed a lot of marine life.

Thus, the newly Planted Harakeke (flax) and other native plants/trees shall be permanently in Albert Park. The pavilion structure is temporary.

According to a pdf sourced online, Auckland’s original biodiversity and forests were once rich. Over a third of New Zealand’s 2200 vascular plants comprise a number of unique ecosystem types, including lava, kauri dominated broadleaved/podocarp forests, and coastal forests. Some native ecosystem types in urban Auckland, such as coastal forests, kauri forests and volcanic lava forests, are critically depleted and now cover less than 10% of their original extent. https://www.wynyard-quarter.co.nz/wqsmart/www/pdfs/environmental/smyers-biodiversity-opportunities-for-wynyard-quarter-11-feb-2014.pdf

[thisdaynews]

Trump ending U.S. role as worldwide leader on refugees

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/trump-ending-u-s-role-as-worldwide-leader-on-refugees/

Trump ending U.S. role as worldwide leader on refugees

Jessica Vaughan, a policy director with the Center for Immigration Studies, which favors lower levels of immigration, contends Trump’s 18,000-person ceiling will offer protections to those most in need around the world and ease the burden on receiving communities.

“The fact that the numbers are going to be lower is going to be less of a concern for state and local governments,” she said.

But advocates for refugees see the administration’s policies as part of an effort to crack down on all forms of immigration.

“They are intentionally destroying the ability of the United States to receive refugees for three to five years into the future,” said Jen Smyers, a policy and advocacy director with Church World Service, a resettlement agency.

For the first time this year, the Trump administration is creating a new system that sets aside the majority of slots for different kinds of refugees, which is a big reason the U.S. is unlikely to admit the maximum of 18,000 people. If one category doesn’t hit its limit, it’s not clear that those slots will be transferred to another category.

The Trump administration would devote 5,000 spaces to people with a fear of religious persecution, 4,000 spaces to Iraqis who aided U.S. forces in that country and 1,500 spaces to people from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, according to a proposal shared with lawmakers and obtained by POLITICO. Only 7,500 slots have been set aside for a general pool of refugees from around the world. Congolese and Burmese refugees — who made up more than half of the 30,000 refugees accepted last year — will compete with people of other nationalities for the limited spaces in that general pool.

The U.S. won’t likely move fast enough to reach the caps this year for certain refugees, such as Iraqis, who have had trouble getting through the refugee system under enhanced Trump-era security hurdles and vetting.

An analysis of State Department data by resettlement groups in July found more than 100,000 Iraqis are seeking to enter the U.S. as refugees. Of those, roughly 14,700 had completed a prescreening process and 2,100 had finished interviews with USCIS officers, according to a State Department report reviewed by POLITICO in July.

But even with the long line, the delays caused by the security measures make it unlikely the U.S. will admit the 4,000 allowed under this year’s cap. Complicating matters, security checks for some of those would-be refugees could expire while they wait to be resettled, Smyers said.

The U.S. admitted 9,880 Iraqi refugees in fiscal year 2016, but let in only 140 Iraqi refugees in fiscal year 2018 and 465 last year.

“Processing in general has been significantly delayed, and that’s why we’re not seeing a large number of Iraqis that are coming in through this program,” said Jenny Yang, vice president of policy and advocacy with World Relief, another resettlement group.

The slowdown in processing is happening as the Trump administration pursues policies shutting down the avenues for new refugees to get into the pipeline.

USCIS officers who interview prospective refugees overseas have seen their workload slashed in recent months — with no new trips planned through the end of the calendar year. The number of USCIS officers assigned to interview refugees — a vital step in the process — fell to 35 in July, down from 110, according to an agency official. The majority of those staffers, who were previously spread across nine countries, were reassigned to conduct interviews with domestic asylum seekers from the agency’s office in Washington, the official said.

USCIS is expected to reevaluate its refugee interview schedule once the president finalizes the fiscal year 2020 ceiling. The agency reviews refugee trips every three months during the year.

At the same time, the administration is planning to reduce the role of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, which previously referred the majority of refugees to the U.S. The U.S. will no longer accept referrals from the international organization except related to the categories outlined in the new proposal. And even though the U.S. will continue to work with the United Nations to process refugees in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, UNHCR doesn’t have personnel on the ground yet who can process enough cases to reach the 1,500-person cap for those countries.

The U.S. granted refugee status last year to 311 Salvadorans, 118 Guatemalans and 74 Hondurans — just 503 people in total.

“By definition, they have no infrastructure on the ground,” one administration official said of UNHCR’s current capability. “They haven’t put people in the field yet to do these things.”

A UNHCR spokesperson said generally that resettlement “remains a vital durable solution for some of the world’s most vulnerable people,” but added that it’s “disappointing that there are more refugees in need of resettlement than there are places made available by governments.” The spokesperson declined to comment on Trump’s refugee plan specifically.

Refugee backers say they also fear that the Trump administration will limit Central American refugee admissions by setting tougher standards. Under federal law, both refugees and asylum seekers must demonstrate that they cannot return to their home countries “because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.”

Trump officials repeatedly have said that Central American families trekking to the U.S. are driven primarily by economic need and don’t have valid asylum claims. If the federal officials approach refugee claims made outside the U.S. in the same way, it could limit the number of successful applications from Central America.

“Depending on how they are processing and reviewing their claims for refugee status, I think that will determine whether or not we can reach that ceiling,” Yang said. “I think it is going to be challenging.”

The other carve-out — the 5,000 spaces for people who face persecution on religious grounds — appears more likely to be filled, but advocates contend the most vulnerable groups worldwide won’t be covered.

The slots could most easily be filled by refugees entering under what’s known as the Lautenberg Amendment. The provision, introduced in 1990 by the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), created an easier standard for Jewish and Christian minorities in former Soviet states to obtain refugee status.

The program in recent years has served mostly as a vehicle for Ukrainian evangelical Christians. In fiscal year 2019, the U.S. admitted 4,451 Ukrainian refugees, the second-largest nationality behind Congo.

“That’s not the religious minority community that is most in need,” said one resettlement group staffer.

The Lautenberg program also has covered Iranian religious minorities since 2004, but few have been resettled under Trump. Iranian refugees are subject to the same new security measures facing Iraqis. Only 199 Iranian refugees were admitted overall last year.

“I think with political will a lot can be done,” said Melanie Nezer, senior vice president for public affairs at HIAS, a resettlement agency formerly known as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society. “But there’s really been no indication from this administration that there’s political will to rescue and resettle refugees.”

Read More

[valoansdallastx]

VA Loans in Woodsboro Texas

Contents

Winona texas armco: mortgage

Orange [.]. texas

Home loan. fha

Regional loan center

VA Loans in Smyer Texas IRVING, Texas, June 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Caliber Home Loans, Inc. ("Caliber"), a full-service national. an approved issuer for Ginnie Mae and is an approved servicer for FHA, VA and the USDA.

VA Loans in Texas – YouTube – VA Loans in Texas If you used VA Loan to purchase a $517,000, you would need a down payment equal to 25% of the $100,000 that is over the county loan limit of $417,000 or $25,000. This is less. Story Continued Below Whether trump chooses sarah palin, former Texas Gov. long wait times at VA hospitals and clinics around the country and a nightmare of red tape to.

VA Loans in Yantis Texas Yeah I knew a house in the college neighborhood I lived in that would through rangers like this at least once a month. Got broken up every time and I always wondered how they were able to keep doing it without repercussions but apparently if you tell the police about it before hand, they’ll just show up and clear people out once they get a noise complaint and no repercussions unless it.

released a study of the “Top 30 Cities for Millennial Veterans by VA Loan Growth.” Ten of the Top 30 Cities are in three states, Texas (4), Florida (3) and Georgia (3). To create the list, Veterans.

VA Loans in winona texas armco: mortgage critical defect rate decreases in Q3 2017 – Conventional loans were the most utilized mortgage in the third quarter, accounting for 56.2% of all mortgages reviewed. This was followed by FHA loans at 26.9%, VA loans with 11.7%. graduate of.

VA Loans in Tenaha Texas VA Loans in West orange [.]. texas VA Loans in Woodsboro Texas The First National Bank of Woodsboro Customer Reviews.

VA Loans in Stamford Texas VA Loans in Stamford Texas VA Loans in Spade Texas VA loans come with many great perks and benefits that other kinds of mortgages simply do not. For one thing, lenders who offer VA home loans cannot require private mortgage insurance, or pmi.

 · For a Texas-size list of other exciting benefits, see the rest of this guide.Austin is an hour and a half drive away from the central texas veterans health care System located just north in Waco, Texas and an easy trip to the VA regional. VA Loans in Woodbranch Texas.

VA Lending Limits for Texas Cities Although VA guaranteed loans do not have a maximum dollar amount, lenders who sell their VA loans in the secondary market must limit the size of those loans to the maximums prescribed by GNMA (Ginnie Mae) which are listed below.

VA Loans in Willamar Texas VA Loans in Wharton Texas VA Loans in Wilmer Texas VA Loans in Valley View Texas The VA Home Loans program is meant to ease the process of purchasing a. Wharton County, TX fha home loan. fha loans (federal Housing Administration) are government-backed loans that allow the borrower to have a minimum amount of money to put down on a home.

At Woodsboro Bank we place community at the center of every transaction.. of personal banking, business services, lending, and investment programs to meet .

VA Loans in West Tawakoni Texas VA Loans in Woodsboro Texas VA Loans in Winnsboro Texas VA Loans in Weimar Texas I enjoyed working with customers and helping them with their needs. what i didn’t enjoy was how upper managemt run the store. When i being working for Advance America i enjoy knowing that we could help the people but at the end it.

VA Loans in Val Verde Park Texas FHA loan mortgage lending limits in TEXAS vary based on the different housing types and the costs of local Texas housing. FHA home loans are designed for borrowers who are unable to make large down payments. FHA loans are also typically an attractive option for first-time home buyers. Below, you will find the 2019 conforming, FHA and VA loan.

regional loan centers.. To reach the nearest VA Regional Loan Center, please call. Arkansas; Louisiana; Oklahoma; Texas. Department of.

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[valoansarlingtontx]

VA Loans in Yznaga Texas

Contents

Single family home ($0

158-206 mph) tornado 10.7 miles

Financing. local loan

Making home improvements.separate bath

Veterans purchase homes

Long term financing

VA Loans in Smyer Texas VA Loans in Winnsboro Texas An internal VA memo from the corporate data center Operations in Austin, Texas, obtained by FedScoop. is the ability to update direct deposit information, generate home loan certificates of.VA Loans in Wells Texas How to find Wells Fargo Routing Number? To find your Wells Fargo Routing Number, you can view the nine digit number given at the bottom of your check.A Routing Number or Transit Number or ABA Numbers is a nine digit number used to identify financial institutions behind a transaction.VA Loans in Wyldwood Texas VA Loans in Whitehouse Texas VA Loans in Yorktown Texas VA Loans in Willamar Texas So, if you’re looking for VA loans in Texas, call Low VA Rates today at (866) 569-8272 for a FREE quote. Our experienced, professional staff will help you determine your eligibility, work with you to get your Certificate of Eligibility from the VA, if you need, and find the best loan for you.VA Loans in West University Place Texas VA Loans in Yantis Texas TEXAS VA Loan Refinance Rates – Black Tee is not affiliated with the VA, Veteran’s Affairs, or any other government agency. Black Tee is not responsible for rates and terms displayed by any lender or advertiser on www.vapayment.com. Black Tee, LLC and www.vapayment.com do not offer or originate loans or mortgages.”This provided the backdrop for the healthy volume of commercial and multifamily construction starts that took place during 2018. especially with regard to loans for multifamily projects.” The New.TitleMax Title Loans – Official MapQuest – The Yorktown TitleMax store has been providing residents of the george washington memorial Hwy area with title loans since June 2012. We are located on Rt. 17 near Walmart. If you live in or around the greater yorktown area and are in need of some fast cash, stop by the George Washington Memorial Hwy TitleMax store or call us today at (757) 327.VA Home Loans Regional Loan Center Contact Information To reach the nearest VA Regional Office with Loan Guaranty operations, please call 1-877-827-3702, with hours of operation from 8am to 6pm, EST.VA loans are issued by private lenders, such as a mortgage company or bank, and guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The VA Home Loan was created in 1944 by the United States government to help returning service members purchase homes without needing a down payment or excellent credit.

City, single family home (Single Family Home ($0 down and up to). Abbott, $484,350. Abernathy, $484,350. Abilene, $484,350. Ace, $484,350. Ackerly, $484,350. Addison.

Yznaga-area historical tornado activity is significantly below Texas state average. It is 75% smaller than the overall U.S. average. It is 75% smaller than the overall U.S. average. On 5/12/1969, a category F3 (max. wind speeds 158-206 mph) tornado 10.7 miles away from the Yznaga place center caused between $5000 and $50,000 in damages.

VA Loans in Yznaga Texas Eligible Texas Veterans have an opportunity to purchase a home with a competitive, low-interest loan with little or no down-payment. Veterans, military members and their spouses may receive up to $484,350 on a fixed-rate loan for 15, 20, 25 or 30 year terms*.

VA Loans in Westlake Texas VA Loans in Winnsboro Texas VA Loans in winnsboro texas search winnsboro, TX 75494 homes for sale, real estate, and mls listings. view for sale listing photos, sold history, nearby sales, and use our match filters to find your perfect home in Winnsboro, TX 75494. Even so, sometimes Veterans.Typically an FHA loan is one of the easiest types of mortgage loans to qualify for because it requires a low down payment and you can have less-than-perfect credit. For FHA loans, down payment of 3.5 percent is required for maximum financing. local loan Limits – Westlake, LA Loan Limit Summary.

Wellman Texas FHA Loan Yznaga Texas FHA Loan The maximum loan limit in Texas is $760,750 for a 4 living-unit home. The minimum loan limit is $5,000. Loan limits vary by county and home size. In addition to loan limits, to qualify for an FHA loan you must live in the home as your primary residence.

VA Loans in Tynan Texas VA Loans in Zavalla Texas Purchase & Cash-Out Refinance Home Loans – VA Home Loans – Purchase & Cash-Out Refinance Home Loans. With a Purchase Loan, VA can help you purchase a home at a competitive interest rate, and if you have found it difficult to find other financing.. VA’s Cash-Out Refinance Loan is for homeowners who want to take cash out of your home equity to take care of concerns like paying off debt, funding school, or making home improvements.separate bath tub and shower | View 38 photos of this 3 bed, 2 bath, 1,976 Sq. Ft. single family home at 2429 County Road 502, Beeville, TX 78102 on sale now for $279,900.

David Michael Jones can’t resist describing the house he bought a year ago in a suburb of Killeen, Texas – it’s 2,800 square. 72.9% of home loans in Killeen were financed by the VA in 2016,

People move: May 12 – Fhaloanaustintx – Wellman Texas FHA Loan Yznaga Texas FHA Loan The maximum loan limit in Texas is $760,750 for a 4 living-unit home. The minimum loan limit is $5,000. From FHA home loans for the first-time home buyers to VA home loans for our Texas Veterans, we can find the perfect home loan for each individual borrower.

VA Loans in Yoakum Texas Time to meet them: 10. Re/max Military City 2018 Inc. 5000 rank No. 2156 Three-year growth 206% 2017 revenue $2.5M The real estate group helps texas veterans and active military members navigate the.

VA Loans in Yznaga Texas VA Home Loans in Texas: The veteran does have to occupy the home as their primary residence.The veteran does not have to be a first time home buyer and may reuse his. Texas Vet & VA Loan Specialist Shirley Mueller. Since 2003 Shirley has originated well over 1500 Texas Veteran and VA Loans.

VA Loans in Yznaga Texas We specialize in VA Loans and take great pride in Serving those Who Have Served. This dedication and focus on VA loans has allowed us to streamline the VA loan process, making it very smooth and easy for our clients. Give us a call to learn about us and find out why we.

VA Loans in Stafford Texas What is a Stafford, TX VA Loan? The VA loan is a mortgage loan guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs and established in 1944. The VA loan program was designed to help American veterans purchase homes with long term financing and no down payment. VA loans have also helped veterans to buy or build a home, refinance, take cash out.

Texas Veterans and VA Home Loans: Texas Vet Mortgage Loan information and assistance. Veteran Home Loan Specialists help you get rates and pre-qualify.

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[usnewsaggregator-blog]

State Department Told Some Refugee Offices They Should Plan To Close Next Year

New Post has been published on https://usnewsaggregator.com/politics/state-department-told-some-refugee-offices-they-should-plan-to-close-next-year/

State Department Told Some Refugee Offices They Should Plan To Close Next Year

In yet another knife to the heart of the U.S. refugee resettlement program, the State Department alerted the nine domestic resettlement agencies that they should expect to shut down some of their local offices in 2018 in response to the historically low number of refugees arriving in the country.

State met with representatives from the nine agencies on Dec. 1 and said its Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) will no longer authorize resettlement offices to operate if they expect to handle fewer than 100 cases in fiscal year 2018. It also plans to discontinue funding to any local offices that are managed by two different resettlement agencies. 

“The changes will consolidate smaller affiliates, reduce costs and simplify management structures to help the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program run in a way that is fiscally responsible and sustainable in the long term,” a State Department official said in a statement. “Consistent with past practice, PRM intends to provide a guaranteed level of administrative funding for local affiliated agencies to maintain national resettlement capacity.”

Between the nine agencies, about 300 resettlement offices large and small are spread across almost all 50 states, according to Reuters. The amount of funding the government doles out is contingent upon the number of refugees each organization resettles.

These local offices are responsible for shepherding refugees in their first few months in the United States, fulfilling tasks that range from picking them up at the airport to finding them housing, helping them enroll their children in school and assisting them in finding work. They also teach refugees the basics of life in the U.S. ― things Americans may take for granted like how to use public transportation, write a check or shop for groceries. Many offices also help with English courses, employment readiness and financial literacy.

Jen Smyers, the director of policy and advocacy for Church World Service, one of the nine resettlement organizations, told HuffPost that State is allowing the agencies to play around with their numbers in the coming months in order to minimize office closures. 

“We’re trying to make sure that we can try to have at least one office open in every state or in every main area,” she said.

But local closures will impact the resettlement system as a whole, she warned, using the example of family reunification to explain her point. If a refugee in a small town is petitioning to bring a relative to the U.S., that relative can’t be resettled in the same town if the local office shuts down.

It becomes “a matter of getting here and turning right around and going somewhere that may not have the services that would enable them to succeed,” Smyers said.

The move represents yet another incremental step the Trump administration has taken to dismantle the refugee resettlement program, Smyers said. The three attempted travel bans aside, President Donald Trump set the refugee cap for fiscal year 2018 at 45,000, the lowest level it’s ever been. He also placed added restrictions on the system in October, including a a 90-day review of procedures and security in 11 Muslim-majority countries and a pause on the program that allows refugees to petition to bring over family members.

“I think it was very intentional that the administration made those changes,” Smyers said. “They may seem like minor changes but they really amount to dismantling the refugee program piece by bits. It’s death by a thousand cuts. When we look at the 11 countries that are banned, those amount to a significant portion of the refugees who we’re planning to resettle this year.”

State Department Told Some Refugee Offices They Should Plan To Close Next Year

Original Article:

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[igo-en]

A-J Remembers: Bella Lee motivates students

#Igo [Lubbock Avalanche-Journal]Principal Tony Igo and the Smyer School Board agreed to allow Bella to work quietly in the classroom as a check on the children’s motivation with her presence, according to Lee. “They were open minded enough and accepting enough to try this out,” she ...

[alanafsmith]

Refugee processing under the Trump administration has 'ground to a halt'

Refugee processing in the United States appears to be undergoing a significant slowdown, even though courts have blocked the Trump administration's early efforts to suspend refugee admissions.

Ever since President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January banning travel from seven majority-Muslim countries and suspending refugee arrivals for 120 days, the Department of Homeland Security has refrained from interviewing refugee applicants, The Washington Post reported.

Homeland Security officials and several refugee resettlement groups told The Post that they were not aware of any interviews that had taken place since Trump's first travel ban was issued, even though multiple federal judges have since blocked parts of two executive orders Trump signed on the issue — the first signed in January and the second in March.

A bipartisan group of senators has sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson asking for details on the operations of the US Refugee Admissions Program, and whether interviews are still being conducted.

"According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, we are in the midst of the largest refugee crisis in modern history," the letter read. "We must not lose focus of the need to also protect others fleeing persecution around the world."

Democratic senators Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Cory Booker of New Jersey, and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York were among the signatories, as were Republicans Marco Rubio of Florida, Jeff Flake of Arizona, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.

Refugee resettlement agencies have even begun cutting back on their overseas staff due to the slowdown. Jen Smyers, director of refugee policy and advocacy with the Church World Service, told The Post she's never seen a four-month suspension of the admissions program.

"Refugee processing has ground to a halt," she said.

A State Department spokesperson told The Post the department is "continuing to admit refugees" in "conformity with the Department of Justice's guidance regarding the Court Order," including scheduling travel for refugees who have already been screened and approved, and scheduling and conducting additional pre-screening interviews.

Trump has frequently called for fewer refugees to be allowed into the US, due to fears that terrorists posing as refugees could gain entry. Amid the worldwide refugee crisis that has worsened in recent years, former President Barack Obama had proposed raising the refugee admissions cap to 110,000 in fiscal year 2017 from 85,000 in 2016 — but Trump in his original travel ban lowered the cap to 50,000.

The US accepted 2,070 refugees in March and 3,316 in April — the two lowest monthly totals since 2013, according to a USA Today analysis of the State Department's Refugee Processing Center. The State Department told the newspaper it had "adjusted the pace of refugee arrivals" in response to the lowered refugee cap.

The refugee program isn't the only immigration process that appears to be undergoing a slowdown in recent months. The senators' letter comes just days after a Human Rights First report documented 125 instances between November and April of asylum-seekers being turned away from US border entry points by customs agents, without so much as an interview with an asylum officer, as is required by law.

The extent of the rejections at the border is unclear, as data is not kept on how often customs agents deny asylum-seekers entry to the US. Human Rights First told The New York Times the number is likely far higher than 125, as most migrants do not contact lawyers or American advocates after they are denied entry.

Trump has not issued any directive to customs agents to reject asylum-seekers, and Customs and Border Protection told The Times that their agents process all asylum-seekers for interviews with asylum officers.

SEE ALSO: 'Wait your turn': The incredibly complicated process behind legal immigration to the US

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: This video shows all of the US presidents in order of height

from All About Law http://www.businessinsider.com/how-many-refugees-admitted-to-us-2017-trump-2017-5

[big-idiot-wolf-boys]

What did smeyer do to make Robert Pattinson uncomfortable Was Edward her vision of an imaginary boyfriend and she felt some connection to her fictional boyfriend

I don’t have any specific instances of Smyer creeping on Rpatz that come to mind, but here’s what we know:

Twilight was written as an escapist fantasy, wherein Bella was the stand-in for Stephenie herself.

Smyer reveres Edward more than any other character she’s created, talking about how pure and beautiful he is. (Except for that one time where she talked about having a dream that Evil! Edward came to her and said she got it all wrong)

Smyer had a heavy hand in the casting decisions, as we know from Miss Hardwicke’s statements about Smyer refusing to cast POC outside of villain roles.

This leads to the fairly obvious conclusion that Smyer allowed Rpatz to obtain the role of Edward because she deemed him attractive enough to play her golden boy.

With all we know about Smyer’s view on age gaps, and her casual attitude about sexual harassment/assault (IE: Most of Eclipse), it’s not a far leap to assume that she must have said or done something to Robert that has made him speak out against her creepiness a couple of times, though never to any significant degree of detail. I’ll reblog with screencaps if I can find any specific quotes.

[nancy-astorga]

Refugee processing under the Trump administration has ‘ground to a halt’

Refugee processing in the United States appears to be undergoing a significant slowdown, even though courts have blocked the Trump administration’s early efforts to suspend refugee admissions.

Ever since President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January banning travel from seven majority-Muslim countries and suspending refugee arrivals for 120 days, the Department of Homeland Security has refrained from interviewing refugee applicants, The Washington Post reported.

Homeland Security officials and several refugee resettlement groups told The Post that they were not aware of any interviews that had taken place since Trump’s first travel ban was issued, even though multiple federal judges have since blocked parts of two executive orders Trump signed on the issue — the first signed in January and the second in March.

A bipartisan group of senators has sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson asking for details on the operations of the US Refugee Admissions Program, and whether interviews are still being conducted.

“According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, we are in the midst of the largest refugee crisis in modern history,” the letter read. “We must not lose focus of the need to also protect others fleeing persecution around the world.”

Democratic senators Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Cory Booker of New Jersey, and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York were among the signatories, as were Republicans Marco Rubio of Florida, Jeff Flake of Arizona, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.

Refugee resettlement agencies have even begun cutting back on their overseas staff due to the slowdown. Jen Smyers, director of refugee policy and advocacy with the Church World Service, told The Post she’s never seen a four-month suspension of the admissions program.

“Refugee processing has ground to a halt,” she said.

A State Department spokesperson told The Post the department is “continuing to admit refugees” in “conformity with the Department of Justice’s guidance regarding the Court Order,” including scheduling travel for refugees who have already been screened and approved, and scheduling and conducting additional pre-screening interviews.

Trump has frequently called for fewer refugees to be allowed into the US, due to fears that terrorists posing as refugees could gain entry. Amid the worldwide refugee crisis that has worsened in recent years, former President Barack Obama had proposed raising the refugee admissions cap to 110,000 in fiscal year 2017 from 85,000 in 2016 — but Trump in his original travel ban lowered the cap to 50,000.

The US accepted 2,070 refugees in March and 3,316 in April — the two lowest monthly totals since 2013, according to a USA Today analysis of the State Department’s Refugee Processing Center. The State Department told the newspaper it had “adjusted the pace of refugee arrivals” in response to the lowered refugee cap.

The refugee program isn’t the only immigration process that appears to be undergoing a slowdown in recent months. The senators’ letter comes just days after a Human Rights First report documented 125 instances between November and April of asylum-seekers being turned away from US border entry points by customs agents, without so much as an interview with an asylum officer, as is required by law.

The extent of the rejections at the border is unclear, as data is not kept on how often customs agents deny asylum-seekers entry to the US. Human Rights First told The New York Times the number is likely far higher than 125, as most migrants do not contact lawyers or American advocates after they are denied entry.

Trump has not issued any directive to customs agents to reject asylum-seekers, and Customs and Border Protection told The Times that their agents process all asylum-seekers for interviews with asylum officers.

SEE ALSO: ‘Wait your turn’: The incredibly complicated process behind legal immigration to the US

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: This animated map shows how religion spread across the world

[solarguidexpro]

Solar Panels for Home in Smyer Texas 79367

The following article goes into detail about solar panels for home in Smyer Texas 79367 Trapping Solar energy for your home Alternate and renewable resource is the call of the hour! Today, throughout the world, regardless of latitude, people are choosing the use of solar energy and energy. Among the forces o nature that are now being experimented upon and utilized for energy, this is among the most essential components the venture. Increasing utility costs, deficiency of the ozone, unhealthy environments and realization o that the airplane is our only home, has actually raised lots of an attention towards the sun- as a tidy source of energy! Nature - the best resource in the house! Using solar power in your home is now prevalent extravagance today. The several technological developments currently in place and constant financial investments in new innovation have bought the potential of solar energy to the limit. Not only is the light and heat from the sun the best forms of renewable energy, but it is also the cleanest alternatives to the LPG utilized and naturally the one property element we can not live without - electricity. Solar energy can be trapped in your home throughout the day, for use at night too! The use of photovoltaic panels on any open surface area allows you to store the energy from the sun through the course of the day for after usage. Residential planetary systems are extremely quickly available both online and offline. There are DIY or Do-it-Yourself sets as well as a variety of specialists who step in for setup. These panels can be utilized really securely in your house.

Installing residential Systems for a cleaner environment You can now source and set up the solar power panels and sets inning accordance with the quantity of energy the home requires at sunset and through the night. Appropriately the panel and positioning can be chosen. Even in very cold areas, adequate storage of solar power though the summertime and the winter days, is possible. The estimations are on the basis of: • the quantity of light required to illuminate your house • capability of the solar panel • quantity of sunlight available • open areas around the house for installation • budget Solar energy for the modern-day house can be found in 2 standard types - the grid-tie and the off-grid system. The former uses the sun's energy to produce Direct Existing and after that converts the exact same into Alternating Current through an inverter. With the assistance of this system you can in fact offer the energy caught! Many people are banking on the transmission of excess power to the nearby company owned power grid. In the case of the off-grid system, the power produced can not be redirected for business revenue but you can save all the electricity produced with the help of the solar panels in special batteries created for the purpose. The extremely basic procedure of installation and sourcing the caught energy by means of the solar power the region is commonly exposed to is now available at a click. It assists a lot to get your house work done and investigate the budget plan requirements of equipment, besides the expense of labor.

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Trump Administration Considers Tearing Families Apart In New Immigration Crackdown

New Post has been published on https://usnewsaggregator.com/politics/trump-administration-considers-tearing-families-apart-in-new-immigration-crackdown/

Trump Administration Considers Tearing Families Apart In New Immigration Crackdown

In a renewed push to clamp down on the influx of illegal crossings along the southern U.S. border, the Trump administration is reportedly weighing a policy that would separate parents from their children in detention centers.

The measure could also penalize migrants who live in the U.S. illegally and try to bring their children into the country, The Washington Post first reported Thursday.

Families apprehended at the border have historically been detained together. This new policy, according to The New York Times, would place parents in adult detention centers and children either in separate shelters or in the care of “sponsors.”

The new Department of Homeland Security secretary Kirstjen Nielsen hasn’t yet given her official approval, the Times reported. But the White House is on board, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement has approved the policy.

A DHS official said the agency has spent the year reviewing “procedural, policy, regulatory and legislative” changes to address illegal immigration. “The administration is committed to using all legal tools at its disposal to secure our nation’s borders and as a result we are continuing to review additional policy options.”

While DHS wouldn’t confirm or deny whether this specific policy had been reviewed, acting press secretary Tyler Houlton did say the agency is exploring “all possible measures” to protect children.

“It’s cruel for parents to place the lives of their children in the hands of transnational criminal organizations and smugglers who have zero respect for human life and often abuse or abandon children,” he said in a statement.

Immigration officials floated this type of draconian tactic in March, reasoning that it could sway people not to cross the border illegally, but never moved forward with the proposal. The decision may have been tied to a drop in illegal immigration in the first few months of Donald Trump’s presidency.

Then-DHS secretary John Kelly said the agency would only separate people in circumstances that presented a danger to the child.

People have the right to seek asylum and it is fully within U.S. and international law. Jen Smyers, Church World Service

Illegal border crossings then shot up in the second half of 2017. Official statistics show a 45 percent increase in family units and a 26 percent increase in unaccompanied children between October and November.

Yet some families have still been separated and prosecuted for improper entry, The Houston Chronicle found. The Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project, a legal service provider in Arizona, said it had identified 155 cases of family separation as of late October 2017. Lawyers have argued that the practice is unconstitutional, while the administration has repeated the claim that separation is sometimes necessary to protect children from smugglers.

Jose Demar Fuentes, for instance, entered the U.S. on Nov. 12 with a 1-year-old boy who authorities couldn’t confirm was his son due to a lack of identification documents, ICE said in a statement. Authorities placed the child in the care of the Department of Health and Human Services, while Fuentes was put in a detention center.

“Historically, some criminal smuggling organizations have paired non-relative children and adults with each other to minimize the chance of being detained if caught being smuggled across the border,” said ICE spokeswoman Liz Johnson. 

Advocacy groups decried the possible measure.

“Formalizing a policy of forcibly separating families seeking asylum in the U.S. is inhumane, traumatic, and unnecessary and will not make America any safer,” said Michelle Brané, director of the Migrant Rights and Justice program at the Women’s Refugee Commission. “Such a policy flies in the face of domestic and international child welfare and refugee principles and laws and would even further undermine U.S. obligations to ensure policies protecting family unity.” 

As we prepare to celebrate Christmas, we are painfully aware that these families are seeking safety just as Joseph, Mary, and the infant Jesus did long ago.” Jen Smyers, Church World Service

Jen Smyers, the director of policy and advocacy for the Church World Service’s refugee resettlement program, told HuffPost that the policy proposal is “inhumane.”

“Donald Trump’s war on immigrants has reached a sad new low. Separating families who are fleeing gang violence is unconscionable. And yet we find ourselves in the position of once again issuing a statement that we are against proposals that are clearly inhumane — just days before Christmas no less,” she said in a statement. “People have the right to seek asylum and it is fully within U.S. and international law. Especially as we prepare to celebrate Christmas, we are painfully aware that these families are seeking safety just as Joseph, Mary, and the infant Jesus did long ago.”

“The United States should not be in the business of separating children from their parents to fulfill some immoral campaign promise,” the statement continued. “CWS urges the administration to allow these families to have their case for asylum fully considered, and we stand ready to help them through legal services, materials goods, and solidarity through advocacy for their protection.”

Trump Administration Considers Tearing Families Apart In New Immigration Crackdown

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[leeannclymer]

Blog Post: California: Does a Home Care Assessment Constitute “Treatment” Subject to Utilization Review?

Fine Lines and a Glimpse at the Future

In Rodriguez v. Simi Valley Unified School District, 2017 Cal. Wrk. Comp. P.D. LEXIS 671, applicant, a custodian, sustained injury at her employer. The injury was sufficiently serious that her treating physician deemed it necessary to ask that an independent evaluation occur to determine the nature and extent of home healthcare assistance required. An RFA was submitted to UR which was denied. This was appealed to IMR while simultaneously applicant filed a DOR for an expedited hearing. At Trial, the WCJ determined that the UR finding was never valid because there was no treatment issue requiring UR review. Rather, the question was analogous to an outside expert required to perform an evaluation necessary for the purpose of providing data for further determinations. The Finding by the Judge was then sent up for Reconsideration by defendants. At that time, the three commissioners understood and limited the issue to be whether “an evaluation for home healthcare is properly the subject of UR.” The Court, citing Navarro v. Alia Corporation, 2016 Cal Wrk. Comp. P. D. LEXIS 356, 8-9, in a fairly short decision signed by the panel of three commissioners, did not buy the Judge’s determination that there was a distinction between “evaluation” and “treatment”. They wrote, for example, that: “the fact that an x-ray or MRI can be considered evaluative or diagnostic, however, does not mean that the procedure is not subject to UR.” Nonetheless, in a mysterious footnote number one, easily missed, the Court added, “In some cases, a home health care evaluation may be a med-legal expense, rather than treatment. That is not the case here.”

Commentary:

The decision is deceptively simple in its finding but much more complicated in its ramifications. Consider the following:

1. There is definitely a difference between “benefits” and treatment. California has a long standing history of case law in determining appropriate benefits as an adjunct to treatment. Some examples include housekeeping (Smyers v. WCAB (1984) 157 Cal. App. 3d 36, 49 Cal. Comp. Cases 454), childcare (City of Simi Valley v. WCAB (Stephenson) (2008) 73 Cal. Comp. Cases 265 (writ den.)), home modifications (Bishop v. WCAB (2011) 76 Cal. Comp. Cases 1192 (writ den.)), transportation/van modifications (Washington v. WCAB (1996) 48 Cal. Comp. Cases 61 (Court of Appeal opinion not published in official reports), and, yes, spousal care (Los Angeles Times v. WCAB (Herbinger) (2005) 70 Cal. Comp. Cases 504 (writ den.)).

When it comes to awarding benefits, facts are often very important. For instance, the Court will generally not allow spousal assistance if that benefit were provided previously and unrelated to injury. Thus, on such issues, testimony before a Judge is required who can measure credibility and the facts. To expect UR reviewers having no access to testimony to determine whether babysitting is necessary would seem to be outside the scope of their expertise. Further, did the legislature really intend when it redefined treatment authorization by means of the UR protocol to actually change benefits awarded to the applicant by long-standing case law?

So we have the naughty question untangling the adjunct benefits allowed, heretofore loosely construed as treatment, and what facts and issues of credibility may require a judicial determination.

2. As the Court itself hints (in its footnote), there is a distinction between medical legal and treatment. To take the example of diagnostic studies, an orthopedist treating an applicant may see no need to order electrodiagnostic studies to confirm the presence of radiculopathy. It may make no difference in the treatment protocol (Lab. Code, § 4600 requiring treatment only “if reasonably required to cure or relieve” from the effects of injury) and so would not be appropriate treatment. On the other hand, according to Labor Code Section 4620, to qualify as medical legal, diagnostic studies are deemed appropriate if necessary for the purpose of “proving or disproving a contested claim.” Only treatment, and not necessarily medical legal, is subject to UR.

The AMA Guides 5th edition are mandatorily applied for rating purposes in the state of California pursuant to Labor Code Section 4660, which states under a DRE III (in the various spinal sections, i.e., pg. 384 Table 15-3) that “electrodiagnostic studies may be” used to verify radiculopathy. A DRE III rating is considerably more valuable than a DRE II rating. Sometimes the only thing that stands between the two is whether electrodiagnostic studies have been performed. So in a case where radiculopathy is reasonably suspected, and yet electrodiagnostic studies would not be valid for treatment purposes, it still may be necessary to prove or disprove contested issues.

Surely, no one would state that a UR reviewer is expected to be familiar with the AMA Guides in California law. As stated above, UR was not set up to rule on medical legal issues. The issue in short becomes medical legal and not treatment. So, as the Court here hints, there may be cases where expert testimony is indeed medical legal and would not fall under UR. An obvious example of that would be the longstanding practice allowing for reimbursement of a vocational specialist.

3. Finally, there is the terribly complicated quagmire as to MTUS (which is the first line of hierarchy in the UR System) and its relationship to home care. The MTUS is promulgated by the DWC administrative director under Labor Code sections 5307.27 and 4604.5, and can be found in sections 9792.20 et seq. of Title 8, California Code of Regulations. It is considered presumptively correct in UR Determinations.

The MTUS on page 51 talks about home health services and does not mention home care. The distinction is that home health services is specifically limited to skilled licensed care, and requires the recipient to be homebound. These references are borrowed from Medicare which has certain standards for reimbursement. (In defining homebound, see Medicare’s definition http://www.medicare.gov/Pubs/pdf/10969pdf)

On the other hand, home care, as it is provided in the world of workers’ compensation, allows for nonlicensed assistance. Family members being compensated for additional care of injured workers provided is well accepted. It may be limited to a number of hours per day. The recipient certainly need not be “homebound” in the traditional sense. (Although, arguably, the definition found in Medicare cited above is broader than its strictest connotation.)

So the question becomes how a UR reviewer, relying primarily on the MTUS, is supposed to analyze an allowable benefit of homecare that is primarily defined by case law and is not directly addressed by the MTUS at all? Assuming that such issues do need to go through UR, the parties would clearly need to present evidence linking Medicare’s definition with another type of benefit which is not included in Medicare. And, even assuming that such issues do need to go through UR, the parties would clearly need to present evidence linking Medicare’s definition with another type of benefit which is not included in Medicare. Also, the presumption of the MTUS can be rebutted when required, and the question is what other sort of guidelines would be more appropriate? In short, the matter becomes rather complicated.

Takeaway Points: Once again, the decision is deceptively simple. It is one panel decision among many future ones, I am sure, helping to untangle these difficult questions.

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