I am so ashamed of this Canadian government –it must fall on Oct. 19th

Germans standing up for helpless refugees

Canada announced today a 3-point plan for thousands of refugees.

BUG WHUP.

1. Fighting ISIS (-How's that worked for Syrians or refugees so far?)

2. Humanitarian Aid - up to $100 million, matching individual contributions. Either we must send aid to UN, the Red Cross, and other NGOs, or we don't. Why are they matching money? We're going to send some money for water and food? There are people here, prepared to sponsor refugees, and teach them to fish, not just handing them aid.

3. Refugee Resettlement - only over 4 years, but Harper won't co-operate with provincial leaders who are speaking out, or large city mayors, who are stepping up to the plate. We've done this before, and we have done it well, helped people escape war, poverty, violence and natural disasters.

I AM SO ANGRY. As is a former PM: Jean Chrétien says Stephen Harper 'has shamed 

The trail they are trying to follow

Canada'

"I am sad to see that in fewer than 10 years, the Harper government has tarnished almost 60 years of Canada's reputation as a builder of peace and progress."

I am so ashamed of the Prime Minister. This isn't MY Canada.

The outgoing PM, Harper, want to spend more time working with political advisors and spin doctors to ensure his re-election. The outgoing Harper Conservative government wanted to promise a balanced budget. It seems it was balanced on the backs of Canadians. It seems it was balanced on the backs of Canadian Veterans, as well as Aboriginal Affairs, and Immigration budgets, to name three budget lines. He and his PMO have been cutting the Immigration budget in a desperate bid to please his party base, and hold onto power. Even worse, if he thinks it is the Canadian thing to do.

This is shameful, with all of the religious and community groups who have gotten together to sponsor refugees privately:

• Canada approves just 9 refugee cases for private sponsorship

You can read more here: $350 million for refugees and immigration returned to government, unspent

Canada's immigration department returned more than $350 million to the federal treasury in unspent funds over a three-year period, a sum that included millions for processing refugee applications and helping asylum-seekers settle ...

The civil war in Syria is complex, with evidence of the use of chemical weapons only the latest horror. Add to that the bombings, the loss of infrastructure. A Kurdish combat medic has seen evidence of chemical weapons to kill and maim, at least 4 attacks, The National reports:

Growing evidence chemical weapons used in Iraq, Syria 2:47 min.

With Canada sending bombers, and Russia getting involved, as well, I cannot see this crisis resolving itself anytime soon. From my humble point of view, we cannot solve the civil war, we can help the estimated million refugees searching for a new home by December. We helped 60,000 flee the Vietnam government in 1979. They are strong, contributing Canadians, like Judy Trihn. (Drowned Syrian boy 'could have been you,' Sino-Vietnamese mom tells CBC Ottawa reporter Judy Trinh)

They are crossing by water, or following these trails

When you examine the paths they followed, I cannot imagine the journey as they sell everything to pay and/or bribe those who exploit them in their desire to flee. They risk a watery crossing, on unsafe boats, rather than the horrific circumstances and the barriers they face on roads and trains. It is 3378 km from Syria to Munich.

When you look at the faces of the children, it must break even the hardest anti-refugee hearts. Friday night's The National featured a story of this family who were reunited in Germany, with German police taking happy photos, with smiles on their faces, as they saw the smiles of the children, their mother and father. 

Video: Who Accepts The Most Refugees?

Germany has taken in thousands of refugees

I like reading international news. We need a world view of humanity, as we all share planet earth. I follow DW news, as it provides another point of view of what is going on in the world, as well as BBC. I'm sure that Eurostat is inaccurate for Canada. We haven't brought in many at all.

Certainly, they are citing figures from our government, but at last count, I'd read that we have only taken in 1300 people or so.

Canada's refugee acceptance falls far short of Stephen Harper's claims

How many refugees? Very few. PM Harper lied during a recent Stump speech. He confuses refugees with people being resettled, and these number all people we who have immigrated to Canada, not under these conditions.

"Stephen Harper made the point himself at least twice on Wednesday. Answering journalists' questions in Welland, Ont., he referred to Canada as "the largest per capita refugee receiver in the world." Answering another question about Syrian refugees, he said, "Let's put this in context," and then continued, "Canada is the largest resettler of refugees per capita in the world by far.""

German pro-refugee politician defies neo-Nazis

A senior German politician whose district council is enlarging hostels for refugees says he won't be deterred by a neo-Nazi murder threat. Erich Pipa says "99 percent" of residents support his stand to provide shelter.

Main-Kinzig - the most densely populated of the state of Hesse 21 administrative districts - is accommodating 2,900 refugees and estimates it will receive 5,000 by late December under Germany's system of allocating refugees across its 16 states. 

ZDF published survey results on Friday, showing that 66 percent of Germans endorsed last week'sentry decision by Austrian and German governments to allow mostly Syrian refugees, then stuck in Hungary, to travel on to Germany.

Merkel's Syrian refugee stance reflects spirit of integrating East Germany

Germany's decision to open welcome hundreds of thousands of refugees echoes back to when West Germany opened its arms - and tax coffers - to integrate the former GDR, US foreign policy scholar John Harper tells DW.