Living on the gulf coast at the time, I remember it very well just how the events after Hurricane Katrina played out. Moreover, the one thing that sticks out in my mind, was the response to the many thousands of so-called refugees in various municipalities within which they were forced to call home after the storm. To be quite honest, many of the displaced were not welcome in many municipalities,  and there were many complaints about the existence of potentially criminal-minded individuals from that other country known as New Orleans, spread across America.

I was reminded of this lack of humanity recently when riots broke out in Israel:

For many years, Jews were persecuted, discriminated against and oppressed in several European nations. During the Nazi era, they were confined to concentration camps, burned in ovens, starved to death, gassed with poison and subjected to other grotesque forms of genocide. Many fled Germany and other European countries in search of a better life for themselves and their families. Many came to Israel in search of peace and security.

In light of that history, Israel should strongly oppose of all forms of oppression. Unfortunately, it does not. Ironically, the Israeli government has become an agent of oppression and intolerance. Not only does Israel oppress the Palestinian people, Israel discriminates against African immigrants. Israel should be ashamed of its racist, anti-African policies and sentiments. (read more)

Ahh yes, that’s when I remembered that Israel is in fact America’s little brother, and as the old saying goes, the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. As much as racism manages to rear it’s ugly head here in America, it’s beyond reason to believe that reading the Torah daily and having box seats in heaven makes one immune to the disease that is racism, often employed as the tool of choice to advance the concept of White Supremacy, and everything that is right about it. After all, this is the same Israel that the U.S. sided with when they walked out of the United Nations conference on racism, which sought redress by way of reparations for crimes against humanity. My guess is that the guilt of having to own ones crime became too much to bear.

So what is the Israeli government doing about this? Surely they’ll be open to listening to the words of the Sudanese version of Martin Luther King Jr. and do the right thing, yes? Well, not exactly; according to The Jerusalem Post, they’ve decided to do what Conservatives in America advocate. That’s right: deportation. Not exactly the Mitt Romney-styled plan of self-deportation; instead, the Israeli’s have launched a more friendly-sounding policy called “Operation Going Home” and have already started the process of removal of all Sudanese refugees in Israel.

Here’s what happened last weekend:

A plane carrying a group of 123 South Sudanese migrants took off from Ben-Gurion Airport late Sunday night on its way to Juba. It was the first such flight to leave Israel as part of “Operation Going Home,” in which authorities plan to deport South Sudanese in Israel.

The South Sudanese men, women, and children were processed for their flights earlier behind mounds of suitcases inside Ben-Gurion Airport’s Terminal 1. They were joined on the charter flight by four members of a South Sudan diplomatic delegation that came to Israel last Thursday to oversee the administration of the deportations and meet with local members of the South Sudanese community in Israel.

Earlier on Sunday, Interior Minister Eli Yishai said thedeportation of the 700- 1,500 South Sudanese in Israel barelyscratches the surface of solving the migrant problem facing the country.

Yishai said the real problem “is with Eritrea that has 30,000 people [in Israel] and north Sudan with 15,000,” adding that he hopes “that the legal obstacles to this will be lifted soon and we can expel them as well.”

Yishai admitted that the South Sudanese make up only a “drop within a drop” of the 60,000 or so African migrants in Israel, but added that deporting them is a “national interest” and that if he “has to chose between the interests of Israel and the interests of the Sudanese, I will choose Israel.

[...] Gidon Cohen, the head of the encouragement of willful repatriation department of the Population, Immigration and Border Authority, said that each South Sudanese adult received $1,300 in cash, with an additional $500 for each minor traveling with them. They were also given vaccines against diseases common to Sub-Saharan Africa.

[...] Escorted by friends and trailed by cameramen and reporters, dozens of South Sudanese men, women, and children filled into buses on the seventh floor of the Tel Aviv Central Bus Station. As they loaded their bags onto the bus in the midday sun, the migrants described a mixture of feelings. While many spoke of anger towards the anti-migrant atmosphere in Israel and the arrests that accompanied the deportations, others spoke of relief that the deportation saga is coming to an end and happiness about finally returning to their homeland, a new country that did not exist when they fled years earlier.

Andrew Akolawine smiled on the pavement at the bus station, saying “I’ve been here for five years and I’m happy to be going back. You know in any circle, you must end at the point where you start. I started there [South Sudan] and I will finish there, this is enough.”

Akolawine, a father of four, spoke warmly of the Israeli friends he’d made over his years in the country, but added that recent anti-migrant statements by Israeli politicians had soured his opinion of Israel.

Still, he cracked, “I’m very proud that I am part of a people Israel thinks are so important that they don’t talk about the Palestinians anymore, just us.”

[...] Orit Marom of the Assaf NGO, which assists African migrants, called Sunday “a day of shame,” saying that Israel’s Interior Ministry “has trampled on the honor of great friends of Israel, the South Sudanese.” Marom added “the South Sudanese, unlike Eli Yishai, have a big heart and they forgive him.”

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu addressed the deportations during Sunday’s cabinet meeting, saying “today the government will begin the operation to repatriate illegal work infiltrators to their countries of origin. We will do this is an orderly and dignified manner.”

Netanyahu also spoke of the government’s efforts to stop the entry of further illegal migrants by finishing construction of the border fence, finishing detention facilities for illegal migrants and using diplomatic steps to find third countries to take in African asylum seekers.

On June 7, the Jerusalem District Court rejected a petition by human rights groups opposed to the deportation of South Sudanese, saying the NGOs did not prove that the South Sudanese would be in physical danger if they were returned home. Though assurances were made that the migrants would be given a week to prepare for deportation, three days later immigration officials began arresting South Sudanese across the country.

The arrests follow a decision announced in January by the Interior Ministry, which gave South Sudanese until April 1 to leave Israel willingly or face deportation.

Perhaps you have not been following much of the immigration debate here in the U.’S. lately. However, if you do, you cannot tell me that what’s happening in Israel does not eerily sound like what’s happening here in America. At the end of the day, I guess it can be said that Israel, like the United States of America, is no country for people of color, or in particular, people of African origin. Which is really sad when you think about the fact that the leader of the so-called free world, happens to be a direct descendant of a black man born in Kenya, which makes his U.S. presidency illegitimate. Yeah, it’s really funny to me how that racism thing works; and how it impacts the lives of the dispossessed folk of African origin. I could be wrong, but maybe things would be different if cotton was a cash crop in Israel. Surely they’d be more welcoming and kind just like over here.

So why are there Sudanese refugees? Well, that’s up for debate depending on who you are. But according to a recent report by the United Nations, last year was the worst year for refugees across the globe since 2000. According to the report, 4.3 million people were newly displaced. About 800,000 of them fled their countries and became refugees (the remaining people were displaced but did not leave their countries, so they do not meet the definition of “refugee;” rather, they are considered IDPs – internally displaced persons). The report concludes, that at the end of 2011, there were 42.5 million displaced people worldwide — more than the population of Canada.

From the report:

2011 saw suffering on an epic scale. For so many lives to have been thrown into turmoil over so short a space of time means enormous personal cost for all who were affected,” said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres. “We can be grateful only that the international system for protecting such people held firm for the most part and that borders stayed open. These are testing times.

Yes, testing times indeed, especially when you consider that much of the displacement is a direct result of policy decisions made by the U.S. and given a stamp of approval by Israel. This is especially troubling when you consider that the UN reports that Afghanistan remains the biggest producer of refugees (2.7 million) followed by Iraq (1.4 million), Somalia (1.1 million), Sudan (500,000) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (491,000).  This is particularly sad given that the top two countries producing refugees are places where we went to war.  Clearly, U.S. efforts have failed to make Iraq and Afghanistan safe; at least not in the minds of the millions of people who have decided that they cannot return home. But hey, none of this is racist, right?

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This via The Real News Network:

We are here to say that incarceration has nothing to do with solving the problems of American society it has everything to do with putting people in their place repressing people and it’s time for this to end, we want jobs, education, health care, we do not want jails…right now the United States represents 5 percent of the world’s population but we incarcerate 25 percent of the world’s prisoners, this in a nation that’s obsessed with the idea of freedom, the question is why, why do we incarcerate so many people than other places in the world, we clearly don’t have the answers so we are here to say we have to stand up for people like Mumia Abu Jamal. - JOHANNA FERNANDEZ, PROFESSOR OF HISTORY, BARUCH COLLEGE, CUNY

It is imperative that we continue to bare witness to the many injustices suffered particular by people of color and poor people in general, all across these United States of America – a country where as you know, said people are over-represented within the criminal justice system, by no accident.

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But much to the angst of my Republican warhawk friends, he pretty much pushed back on the notion that now is the time to , “Bomb! Bomb! Bomb! Bomb! Bomb,bomb, Iran!” According to the president, there really isn’t any evidence that Iran is capable of producing a nuclear weapon. However, just in case they might want to entertain the idea of doing so. For now, the best course of action is to allow current economic sanctions to squeeze them into submission. You know, much in the same way a starving North Korea announced dropping their nuclear program in exchange for the US sending them food last week? Yes, president Obama is of the belief that it will only be a matter of time before his sanctions will have an effect. Check out president Obama’s AIPAC speech below:

Israeli reactions to US President Barack Obama’s speech at the AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington on Sunday were divided along party lines.

Deputy Negev and Galilee Development Minister Ayoub Kara (Likud) criticized Obama for saying that too much bluster played into Iranian hands and suggesting that it led to higher gas prices.

“There is a saying that it’s easier to watch a fire from far away,” Kara said. “We are facing an existential threat, not the US. If Israel doesn’t bluster, the US will also be in danger, because Iran’s missiles will reach them too. Israel is doing everything possible to keep the world safe, and it’s unfortunate that the White House doesn’t see things the way we see them here.”

MK Danny Danon (Likud) mocked Obama’s promises to protect Israel’s security.

He said history had proven that Israel can rely only on itself.

“Looking back at the way the United States criticized Israel for destroying the nuclear reactor in Iraq, Israel must make its decisions based on its own good judgment,” Danon said.

Labor leader Shelly Yacimovich called Obama’s speech unquestionably pro-Israel.

In a speech in Herzliya, she wished Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu well in his meeting with the president.

Opposition leader Tzipi Livni blamed tension between Netanyahu and Obama on the prime minister. She predicted that there would be a large gap between Obama’s praise for Israel in his speech and what he would say to Netanyahu behind closed doors.

“Relations between Israel and the US have become political during Netanyahu’s term,” she said. “Netanyahu made Israel an issue in the American election and it’s a mistake. Netanyahu must understand that relations with the US are an essential need.

Our deterrence depends on it. He will be tested on whether he is able to draft the US into our interests or whether he will continue just manipulating internal American politics.”

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that judging from the above piece, politics in Israel sounds very much like here in the US.

So, how do you see it? What exactly is the best approach in handling the situation with the possibility of Iran developing nuclear weapons? I’d really love to hear from you on this because from where I’m sitting, this isn’t as deep as Israel being blown off the map by Iran. I say this because lost in all the talk is the history of US relations with Iran. Sure we’re all aware of the longstanding love affair between Israel and the United States. But is Israel’s security really and truly in the interest of the United States? Moreover, how many Israelis have died alongside US military personnel in the US’s decades long war on terror in either Afghanistan, or Iraq? I’m not sure of the answers to these questions, so maybe you can help me out.

Awesome breakdown from The Real News Network below:

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The amount of money the central bank parceled out was surprising even to Gary H. Stern, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis from 1985 to 2009, who says he “wasn’t aware of the magnitude.” It dwarfed the Treasury Department’s better-known $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. Add up guarantees and lending limits, and the Fed had committed $7.77 trillion as of March 2009 to rescuing the financial system, more than half the value of everything produced in the U.S. that year.

“TARP at least had some strings attached,” says Brad Miller, a North Carolina Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, referring to the program’s executive-pay ceiling. “With the Fed programs, there was nothing.”

Now if only everyone on Capitol Hill were as interested in the welfare of the American people as they proclaim to be as they are these financial institutions? Maybe then, and only then can something be done with the interest of said people in mind.

This via ThinkProgress:

In one month, Morgan Stanley — one of the most vulnerable financial companies at the time — took $107 billion in secret loans, enough to pay off a tenth of the nation’s delinquent mortgages. The loans, like those made to other institutions, were never reported to Morgan Stanley’s shareholders or the taxpayers who subsidized them.

Other banks drew similar loans without disclosing them. Bank of America, for instance, held $86 billion in public debt on the day then-CEO Ken Lewis declared his company “one of thestrongest and most stable major banks in the world.” Bank of America’s Fed borrowing peaked at $91.4 billion in February 2009; at the same time, it benefited from $45 billion in TARP loans.

And even while members of Congress were working to overhaul the nation’s financial regulatory system, the banks and the Fed kept them in the dark about the loans. Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), one of the architects of the Wall Street reform act that eventually became law, and former Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH), the GOP’s lead negotiator on TARP, told Bloomberg they were unaware of the specifics of such loans.

Had Congress had such information, members of both parties would have changed their votes to favor Wall Street reform, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) said. Former Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND), meanwhile, said knowledge of the loans could have led to a push to reinstate the Glass-Steagall Act, which prohibited banks from owning investment companies and vice versa, thereby limiting their size and vulnerability to such crises.

I find it hard to believe that all of this went down to anyone in Congress on either sides of the aisle, or even in the White House. And while this transpired, regular folks are out in the street wondering just where their next meal, and damn job was going to come from. But let the assholes on the Hill tell it, we have a serious spending problem in this country which without necessary cuts, will lead to our ultimate downfall. Yes, in the long term the budget deficit is, and can be a problem. But in the short term, as I’ve said time and time again, is the fact that long-term unemployment is killing the economy. Point blank, period: there are far too many people unemployed in America right now. And what are our beloved elected officials going to do about it? Not a damn thing but play politics and go into campaign mode as they all have. The sad truth: they don’t give a damn.

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Unfortunately, depending on how you’re looking at it, that did not happen. So who’s the winner in this latest government super fail? Well, iif you listen to the the members of the GOP traveling circus clowns otherwise known as presidential candidates, you’d say president Obama. Like them, if you believe this failure to be a failure in leadership — something that seems to be the running theme as far as GOP criticism — then you blame president Obama. However, if you live in an unaltered reality like the rest of us, clearly, you’ll see the political victory to belong to the Obama administration. I mean, let’s be honest here: this failure bodes well for president Obama, who is poised to make his re-election bid as a run against the do-nothing congress. Not a bad strategy actually; especially when you think about how their approvals are at historic lows. While the president’s has been rising.

Yep, and then there was the chin check of the day in the form of a veto threat:

Think about it: going forward, how can they ever say he isn’t serious about trimming the deficit? How can they say that when his original proposal called for $4 trillion in cuts, and putting everything on the table? How can they say that after not being able to do a measly $1.2 trillion, and now attempt to renegotiate so as to stave off a 40% cut to defense spending? Sorry, Obama set a trap back in August, and these fools fell for it. Listen to the nutjobs, but they’re losing.

How do I know they’re losing? well, other than the attempt to renegotiate the deal made last August. Current polling shows that 53% of Republican voters are now in favor of raising taxes on the wealthy. This is something as president Obama pointed out above, is the point of contention for GOP politicians. Politicians who are willing to stick to the guns of their Grover Norquist pledge to not raise a penny in taxes. A very precarious position to be in right now considering the polling data. However, let the GOP tell it, raising taxes on the wealthy would be disastrous for the economy.

Should the automatic triggers go into effect in 2013, socil programs will take a bigger hit than cuts to the miliytary budget. I’m not sure if you know this, but the military isn’t hurting; poor folks are.

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Either way, this little piece of enlightenment is straight from The King of New York, Mr. Bloomberg, which makes this even more interesting.

In a story titled “The Secret Sin of Koch Industries”, several reporters scattered across the world worked together to analyze and cross reference details of the Evil Billionaire Koch Brothers.

The Bloomberg Market Magazine article highlights several issues of what could be construed as improper business dealings between Koch Industries and Iran during a trade embargo as recently as 2007.  Not only did Bloomberg Magazine report on the Koch’s recent under the table shenanigans; they also put the long red tape of scandal in context with the addition of documents obtained from overseas litigation.

Here are a few highlights:

While is not 100% certain at this point that Koch Industries did in fact violate US law, according to Bloomberg Markets Magazine, internal memos show for example that the details of the sales with Iran were meticulously checked by US lawyers of Koch Industries and coordinated with the lawyers in order to fully ensure that no visible involvement of US-citizens took place

Koch Industries paid bribes in six countries from 2002 to 2008 to win business in Africa, India and the Middle East, comparable to similar behaviour of German technology giant Siemens (Siemens subsequently had to pay a $ 1.6 billion fine!)

The story also covers in great detail over several pages earlier violations of Koch Industries: The company in the past “rigged prices with competitors, lied to regulators and repeatedly run afoul of environmental regulations, resulting in five criminal convictions since 1999 in the U.S. and Canada.”

Still Deliver the Order Mayne, & I ain't Talking 'Bout Chicken & Gravy, Mayne!

Well, it seems like those old farts got some ‘splaining to do, but how much you wanna bet that unless #OccupyWallStreet decides to #OccupyKochIndustries we won’t see a dam thing happen.

Sure, there may be an ‘investigation’ and a ‘hearing’ which is all good theater, but as I write this, there are you out there that honestly believe that these two are ‘too big to fail‘ and while palm greasing has had it’s hay day, the expression on a rich man face in handcuffs is way more satisfying…at least to me.

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