Refugees 6-27-2016

27, June 2016                                 Refugees

Central American refugees attempting to escape from conflict zones have been severely hampered in their efforts by a tacit agreement between President Obama and Mexican President, Peña Nieto. The U.S. has funded Mexico with $86 million to halt the upward migration. A large number of these refugees are forced to work for cocaine gangs at the point of a gun threatened with certain death (often including members of their families) if they refuse.

Sadly, Obama’s soaring rhetoric and compassion on the plight of refugees does not match his behind the scene policies. In practical terms we have successfully bribed the Mexican government to do our dirty work in stemming the flow of refugees from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. This has undoubtedly solved a political crisis but in humanitarian terms it has been a monumental disaster for some of the world’s most vulnerable people.  Many repatriated refugees face certain death killed with the gang number carved on their chests as a warning to others.  According to the Migration Policy Institute the U.S. has deported 800,000 to Central America including 40,000 children. Last year, Mexico accelerated its deportation program expelling more than five times unaccompanied children than the prior year which the Obama administration heralded as a great success. Salva Lacruz, coordinator Human Rights Center in Tapachula described U.S. polices as “reeking in hypocrisy”. We need far better programs rooted in real compassion more especially because of past US polices which fomented much of the instability in Central America. 

Brexit 6-25-2016

25, June 2016                           Brexit

Britain’s historic decision to leave the European Union has sent shock waves across the Continent, rattled entrenched political establishments and plunged stock markets across the world. This was a major miscalculation by Prime Minister David Cameron and a major victory for his arch rival, jester golden boy, Boris Johnson. Cameron only floated the idea of a referendum to placate the right wing ’leave’ members of his own party. The decision also highlights the power of the anti-establishment, xenophobia nationalist parties across Europe. This also reflects the growing anger of many Americans trapped in low paying jobs with a dismal future. A rising tide does not raise all boats – too many have washed ashore.

Brexit has given a major boost to the anti-immigrant U.K. Independence Party. As one dismayed pro-Europe castigated his ‘leave’ compatriots, “your hatred for Europe exceeds your love for your grandkids”. Trump’s supporters are exactly like the ‘leave’ storm troopers. However, on the flip side Britain has carelessly allowed too many immigrants which have overburdened its social services. It has a population of 660 people per square mile compared to the USA, 85. A word of comfort for those Brits looking for new leadership. We have just the man for you who happens to be in your neck of the woods, whacking golf balls in bonnie Scotland. He will round up all those pesky immigrants, make fantastic deals with trading partners and make Britain Great Again!   

Is Trump Guilty of Tax Fraud 6-16-2016

16, June 2016                       Is Trump Guilty of Tax Fraud

For months, presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump has played coy and refused to release his tax returns.

According to Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, David Cay Johnston of the Daily Beast, new evidence has emerged that Trump didn’t pay any taxes and may have committed tax fraud. His investigation showed that in 1984 Trump reported zero income and $625,000 expenses, with no receipts and no documentation.

During the hearing, which lasted two days, the CPA and lawyer who had done Trump’s tax returns for years, claimed that although their signature appeared on the return they stated under oath they had not prepared the tax return. This appears to be strong evidence that Trump had in fact forged his tax return to avoid paying taxes. The case should be reopened and thoroughly investigated and if Trump is found guilty of tax fraud he should serve a long prison sentence and pay a heavy fine. In the meantime he should release his current tax returns online so that all his adoring fans could see the true nature of their Pipe Piper.

Is Trump Guilty of Tax Fraud 6/16/2016

16, June 2016              Is Trump Guilty of Tax Fraud

For months, presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump has played coy and refused to release his tax returns.

According to Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, David Cay Johnston of the Daily Beast, new evidence has emerged that Trump didn’t pay any taxes and may have committed tax fraud. His investigation showed that in 1984 Trump reported zero income and $625,000 expenses, with no receipts and no documentation.

During the hearing, which lasted two days, the CPA and lawyer who had done Trump’s tax returns for years, claimed that although their signature appeared on the return they stated under oath they had not prepared the tax return. This appears to be strong evidence that Trump had in fact forged his tax return to avoid paying taxes. The case should be reopened and thoroughly investigated and if Trump is found guilty of tax fraud he should serve a long prison sentence and pay a heavy fine. In the meantime he should release his current tax returns online so that all his adoring fans could see the true nature of their Pipe Piper.

Brock Turner 6-13-2016

13, June 2016                        Brock Turner

Predictably, the Brock Turner sexual-assault case at Stanford University has ignited public outrage. Turner received a miniscule six months in jail with help from Stanford alum, former California Governor Grey Davis and favored treatment from Judge Aaron Persky who is a Stanford fraternity brother of Turner’s. To make matters worse Turner, proud of his conquest, uploaded photos of the victim to his friends. Turner’s father compounded the tragedy by pleading his son’s crime was only ’20 minutes of action’.

I wonder how the judge would have ruled if the sexual predator was an African-American. Would the judge be so concerned about the consequences of his future? Turner’s light sentence speaks volumes about privilege and our broken criminal justice system.

Sadly, this is symptomatic of our culture that devalues women and ignores the horrors of sexual violence. The crime should also be a wakeup call to the dangers of excessive drinking which loosens self-control and often leads to tragedy. Turner had a blood alcohol level two times the safe limit and the victim three times the safe limit.

Unscrupulous men are always on the lookout for easy conquests and it behooves women to protect themselves from predators by limiting their consumption of alcohol so they are always in complete control of their mental faculties. 

Don the Con 6-11-2016

11, June 2016                               Don the Con

Trump often boasts that his negotiating skills as a successful business tycoon would be used to make ‘America Great Again’ if he is elected president. But a close examination of court records reveal details of how the robber baron tycoon actually bankrupt his Atlantic Casinos but was still able to walk away with millions. Investing little of his own money he secured large loans at high interest using his high profile name and his casinos as collateral. Collecting significant portion of the profits and paying himself a high salary and bonuses and shifting his personal debts onto the casino books, he amassed millions before driving his poorly managed casinos to bankruptcy. He sought protection from the courts and persuaded bond holders to settle for less. 

Unabashed, he boasted that “The money I took out of there was incredible.” Duped by ‘Don the con’ his investors lost millions. He narrowly escaped financial ruin in the 1990s by delaying payments on his debt. To avoid staggering losses he took his casinos public shifting the risk to stockholders. His stock and bondholders lost more than $1.5 billion and many contractors and service providers suffered financial ruin when he failed to pay them but that did not stop him continuing to use the casinos as his personal ATM. Do we really want a con artist as our next president?

BDS 6-10-2016

10, June 2016                            BDS

Buckling under pressure from local Jewish organizations, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued a first-ever, executive order forcing state agencies to divest from any organizations aligned with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. Cuomo seems to have done an end run around the New York legislative body which normally decides on such matters and his ruling is therefore unconstitutional. Cuomo’s order would very likely have a severe impact on European companies that support the BDS movement and trade with New York.

Predictably, his ruling has caused outrage among civil libertarians and human rights activists who accused Cuomo of 21st century McCarthyism. The BDS goals are very simple - apply pressure on Israel to conform to international law by ending the occupation and according full rights to the Palestinians. Currently, Palestinians lives are a living hell, suffering daily humiliations and indignities. Israeli's leading human rights group, B'Tselem, reports that Israel has violated 29 of the 30 Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in its treatment of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. Over 1000 American religious organizations have urged our government to tie its massive foreign aid to adherence to human rights treaties and international law. Americans have a responsibility to support the BDS movement because of our unprecedented military and economic support to Israel. Criticisms of BDS as anti-Semitic are a common strategy used to silence critics of Israeli policies and should be rejected.

Senator Bob Kerrey 6-8-2016

8, June 2016        Senator Bob Kerrey

The appointment of Senator Bob Kerrey, as chairman of the board of Fulbright University Vietnam, shows gross disrespect and insensitivity to the sentiments of the Vietnamese people.

Kerrey admitted his role as a young lieutenant in the Navy Seals when he led his squad to the Vietnamese village of Thanh Phong on Feb. 25, 1969 and slaughtered 2o civilians including 13 children. Kerrey has expressed profound remorse for his role in the massacre but that in no way detracts from its harsh reality. 

Kerrey should follow through on his pledge to step down from the chairmanship as his presence would be an unwelcome distraction.

The university must be in the best interests of the Vietnamese and not construed as an American imposition. In a gesture of good-will the U.S. government should use the opportunity to offer a massive clean-up of Vietnam’s (and Laos’s) silent killers, U.S. cluster-munitions which are taking the lives of its people, on a daily basis.

Hillary Clinton 6-8-2016

8, June 2016                  Hillary Clinton

AP and NBC News engaged in gross media malpractice by declaring Clinton the Democratic winner on the eve of the primary in California and contests in five other states. Although it appears likely the Democratic establishment candidate, Hillary Clinton has prevailed, she is likely to face a great deal of hostility from Sanders supports. Her long political career is fraught with missteps. She got a free pass from media scrutiny beginning with the so-called welfare reform of 1996 which decimated the lives of millions of women in this country. He hawkish polices in the Middle East betrayed a lack of concern for the aftermath of waging war. She failed to pay heed to two of the greatest speeches in the Senate by Byrd and Kennedy who vigorously opposed the war in Iraq. Afraid of being left out in the cold, she vigorously embraced the morally bankrupt polices of Cheney and George Bush and eagerly accepted the bogus presence of WMD’s. Failing to learn from her tragic mistake, she then went on to support the removal and assassination of Gaddafi which plunged Libya into utter chaos. Her more recent misstep was the removal of thousands of emails from her private server which was akin to the missing 18 minutes of the infamous Nixon White House tape. In a desperate attempt to establish her foreign policy credentials, she sited Henry Kissinger as her mentor and supporter ignoring his extremely dark history supporting right wing dictators in the Americas and the genocide in Pakistan. The Clinton’s close ties to Wall Street are well known and will undoubtedly be exploited by the Republicans. She would be wise to extend an olive branch to Sanders and offer him a major role in the forthcoming general election failing which she may well be skewered by the demonic Trump.  

Chad 6-2-2016

2, June 2016                            Chad

Another U.S. proxy bites the dust. After years of relentless pursuit for justice, President Hissène Habré, of Chad was found guilty of crimes against humanity. His reputation as a brutal warlord in Chad’s civil war did not appear to trouble the Reagan administration who offered massive U.S. military support to bring him to power in 1982. He was often described as "Africa’s Pinochet," for his brutal crackdown on civil dissent. In addition to military support, the U.S. trained his secret police, the DDS who was the main instrument of repression disappearing and torturing thousands of innocent civilians. Under the Freedom of Information Act, memos uncovered during the trial, show the U.S. was fully aware of the brutal crackdowns but did nothing to stop them. Habré was deposed in 1990 but lived a life of luxury in neighboring Senegal until his trial. It was only a precedent established by the British House of Lords which allowed former head of state Pinochet of Chile to be arrested and tried, that the noose finally closed around Habré. The Obama administration and Senegal deserve credit for finally pursuing the course of justice leading to Habré’s arrest and indictment.