WORLD BRIEFLY
Wednesday, February 22, 2017
Trump comments put
focus on Sweden’s
embrace of immigrants
HELSINKI (AP) — When a
riot broke out in a predominantly
immigrant Stockholm suburb this
week, the biggest surprise for many
Swedes was that a police officer
found it necessary to fire his gun.
For U.S. President Donald
Trump and his supporters,
however, the episode appeared to
confirm Trump’s vague observation
two days earlier that the
Scandinavian country was at risk
of becoming a breeding ground for
extremist attacks.
It’s true that Sweden, which
prides itself on welcoming
newcomers, is seeing a new kind
of urban unrest. The combination
of the country’s open-door policy
and comparatively heterogeneous
culture has led to frictions,
especially in areas where many
long-time immigrants feel
disempowered.
Yet its problems with crime,
poverty and violence are no greater
— and potentially much less —
than in the United States and other
countries with home-grown gangs
as well as waves of new arrivals
— and Trump’s focus on Swedish
issues has left many people there
puzzled.
This week’s trouble started
when police arrested a drug crime
suspect in Rinkeby late Monday.
Rioters threw rocks at police,
set cars on fire and looted shops,
but no one was injured. Similar
episodes of unrest have happened
sporadically in Sweden, especially
in immigrant neighborhoods.
The flash seemed to corroborate
Trump’s suggestion two days
earlier that Sweden could be the
next European country to suffer the
kind of extremist attacks that have
devastated France, Belgium and
Germany.
“My statement as to what’s
happening in Sweden was in
reference to a story that was
broadcast on @FoxNews
concerning immigrants &
Sweden,” Trump tweeted after he
suggested at a Saturday rally that
a major incident had befallen the
country the night before.
The president’s initial remarks
bewildered Swedes — and gave
rise to ridicule and a barrage of
comment on social media —
because no such incident had taken
place on Friday night.
Mass funeral held for
20 Haitians who died
in dismal prison
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti
(AP) — Relatives wailed in grief
or stared stoically as flowers were
placed on 20 caskets at a mass
funeral for the latest group of
inmates who died miserably in
Haiti’s largest prison, most without
ever having been convicted of any
crime.
Marie Lumane Laurore broke
into piercing screams as she
collapsed in a church pew before
the coffin of her son, Eddy. The
30-year-old inmate fell ill with
tuberculosis and severe anemia
while he was jailed in Haiti’s
filthy and overcrowded National
Penitentiary on a rape charge.
“Jesus, give me back my son!
He was my only boy,” she sobbed,
banging her fists against a wooden
pew in a Catholic church in
downtown Port-au-Prince.
Emotions that had been
East Oregonian
dammed up, in some cases for
years, over their loved ones’
lengthy detentions broke in a
crescendo of grief as a priest called
out the names of the dead.
It was the third funeral service
for National Penitentiary inmates
organized by Port-au-Prince
chief prosecutor Danton Leger
since April. It came a day after
The Associated Press published
an exclusive report on record
overcrowding and appalling
conditions inside Haiti’s biggest
lockup.
Recurrent shortages of food
and medicine as well as infectious
diseases that flourish in packed
Haitian prisons and jails have led to
an upsurge in malnutrition-related
illnesses and other preventable
diseases.
U.N. Special Representative
Sandra Honore said in a statement
that 42 detainee deaths so far this
year are linked to “the worsening
of cruel, inhuman and degrading”
conditions. She called on Haitian
authorities to urgently improve
the situation, saying it was “the
responsibility of the state to ensure
respect for the rights of detainees
and access to basic services.”
Page 9A
Tests needed on Russian
U.N. ambassador’s
cause of death
NEW YORK (AP) — Medical
examiners who performed an
autopsy on Russia’s ambassador to
the United Nations said Tuesday
that more tests are needed to
determine how and why he fell ill
in his office and later died.
Vitaly Churkin, who died
Monday, a day before his 65th
birthday, had been Russia’s envoy
at the U.N. since 2006. He was the
longest-serving ambassador on the
Security Council, the U.N.’s most
powerful body.
New York City’s medical
examiners concluded Churkin’s
death needed further study, which
usually includes toxicology and
other screenings. They can take
weeks. The medical examiner is
responsible for investigating deaths
that occur by criminal violence, by
accident, by suicide, suddenly or
when the person seemed healthy,
or in any unusual or suspicious
manner. Most of the deaths
investigated by the office are not
suspicious.
New Members
Follett’s Meat Co.
Hermiston, OR (541) 564-2780
Maryhill Winery
Goldendale, WA (509) 773-1976
Sno Road Winery
Echo, OR (541) 376-0421
TEK Systems
Seattle, WA (206) 336-4432
Chamber Events
Chamber Business Connection
Every Tuesday at 8:30am KOHU 1360am
Network Hermiston
at Holiday Inn Express
Friday, February 24th 12:00pm
Latino Business Network
Wednesday, March 1st 9:00am
Chamber Ambassadors
Wednesday, March 8th 7:15am
Agricultural Workers
& Employers Resource Fair
Wednesday, March 8th 5:00pm
Leadership Hermiston Class 20
Tuesday, March 14th 7:30am
Network Hermiston at US Bank
Wednesday, March 15th 5:30pm
Business to Business Luncheon
Tuesday, March 28th 11:45am
ELM ER'S
IRRIG ATIO N , IN C.
" Proudly serving & investing in
the future of our communities "
Hwy 395 • Hermiston
541-567-5572
CAROLLEEN
LOVELL
Certified Public Accountant, LLC
541-567-1780
www.carolleenlovell.com
635 SE 4th St. • PO Box 747
Hermiston, OR 97838
Complete Collection Service
Licensed • Bonded
No Collection • No Fee
Tim Mabry
President
461 E. Main
Hermiston, OR 97838
(541)289-9107
www.creditsinc.com
Since 1985
541.567.8073
53 W Beebe Ave, Hermiston, OR
541-567-6151
415 S. Hwy 395
Hermiston
GIVE BACK TO YOUR
COMMUNITY!
AFFORDABLE
FAMILY
EYEWEAR
Hermiston’s Best Value in all Eyewear
541-567-3790 • 541-567-3791 fax
1045 N. 1st • Hermiston, OR
~MARCIA LAMBERT~
www.affordablefamilyeyewear.com
541-567-6562
182 E. Main • Hermiston
Become part of the Keep It Local Shell
by calling Jeanne Jewett at 541-564-4531
or Audra Workman at 541-564-4538.
Custom e r Se r vice
Is O ur #1 P r ior ity!
HOME • COMMERCIAL
24 HOUR EMERGENCY
541-567-3781 • 1-800-238-1223
905 Diagonal • Hermiston
www.osokleen.com
Complete Collection Service
Licensed • Bonded
No Collection • No Fee
Tim Mabry
President
461 E. Main
Hermiston, OR 97838
(541)289-9107
www.creditsinc.com
• Temporary Staffing Services • Recruiting
• Human Resource Management
• Risk Management • Payroll Administration
• Worker’s Comp Insurance
1055 S. Hwy 395, Ste 333 • Hermiston, OR
(541) 567-9670 • Fax (541) 567-4427
251 NE Eldridge Drive, Boardman, OR
(541) 481-2666 • Fax (541) 481-2239
WWW.BARRETTBUSINESS.COM
At UEC we aim higher than just being your electric service provider.
We strive to meet the needs of our
growing communities while offering
products and services that help our
members save money, conserve
energy and natural resources.
541-567-6414
www.umatillaelectric.com