The Holocaust and the Righteous Among Nations.

The Holocaust and the Righteous Among Nations.  

The Gist

Today is Holocaust Memorial Day. Eleven million people were slaughtered at the hands of the Nazis (six million European Jews and five million homosexuals, Roma, Jehovah's Witnesses, Slavs, mentally disabled persons and other so-called 'undesirables'). For the most part, the world did nothing. The most blatant example of world inaction was at the 1938 Evian Conference. The conference was called BECAUSE world leaders knew that Europe's Jews were in trouble. Yet, the United States and Great Britain REFUSED to increase their immigration quotas. At one point, the US State Department tried to keep reports of Nazi atrocities out of the press.The fact that governments didn't do anything, however, didn't stop hundreds upon hundreds of being what Israel has dubbed The Righteous Among the Nations. Stories of Albanian Muslims, Bosnian Muslims, Turkish Muslims, and Iranian Muslims saving Jews are especially poignant. Recently, Human of New York interviewed a man who said the following, 

"Moral absolutism keeps us from learning from the past. It's easy to say: 'Hitler was a demon. Nazis were all bad seeds.' That's simple. It's much harder to say: 'Is that humanity? Is that me?'" 

Although a bit melodramatic, it is important to realize that the death of 11 million fellow humans could easily have happened under out watch (think Rwanda, where one million people died in 100 days, while we did nothing)....and now you know the gist. 

Bipartisanship, a Marathon, and King Abudullah

Bipartisanship, a Marathon, and King Abudullah 

The Gist

President Obama said he had the courage of his convictions and President Bush said he was a force of modernization. My favorite, however, came from former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel who said King Abdullah was, "a powerful voice for tolerance, moderation and peace." King Abdullah ruled a country that lashes bloggers for defending an atheist (obviously he was a peaceful man). Women are outright banned from certain professions, driving, most sports, and need to get male permission to travel abroad and obtain certain medical procedures (obviously King Abdullah was a modernizer). Saudi Arabia forbids public worship of any religion other than Islam (obviously King Abdullah was tolerant). According to a leaked memo by former Secretary of State Clinton, Saudi donors constituted “the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide." Our country's love for tyrants that benefit our interests is certainly nothing new: the Shah of Iran, Mobutu Sese Seko of then-Zaire, Suharto of Indonesia to name a few. But the praise lavished by CNN, Fox News, NPR, MSNBC and others is ridiculous. I guess it shouldn't come as a surprise: Houston's half marathon is sponsored by Saudi Aramco and large wings of top American institutions are named after Saudi royalty. Our foreign policy still seems to adhere to Secretary of State Kissinger's oft repeated quote, "he is a bastard, but he is our bastard." ...and now you know the gist.

YOU WENT TO JUAREZ?!

YOU WENT TO JUAREZ?!  

The Gist

"You are going to El Paso? How nice. DON'T GO TO JUÀREZ."  Without fail, that is the advice that is given to someone who is visiting the second largest bi-national metroplex in the world. No matter that hundreds of Americans travel to their management jobs there every day or that the vast majority of the 120 Americans killed there in the past decade were somehow connected to the cartels (and let's face it NOT WHITE)...obviously people who hadn't been there in years (if ever) know best. Ciudad Juárez, a city of 1.5 million souls, was once a glamorous place that attracted the likes of Ernest Hemingway, Elizabeth Taylor and Steve McQueen. Residents like to boast that the burrito and margarita were invented there (the former at a place all too familiar to American high school students: the Kentucky Club). Its over 350 “maquilas” contribute approximately $23 billion in imports and $43 billion in exports to Mexico’s economy annually. American companies such as Ford and Delphi are investing heavily in Juárez and the city is on track to having its best fiscal year in decades. One need only travel down its cleaner-than-before main boulevards to see thing are getting better (I mean, no place can be THAT bad if there are Starbucks' every six blocks or so). The restaurants and nightclubs are once again filled to capacity. Some time soon, residents hope, American tourists will return as well...and now you know the gist. 

Cuban Cigars for EVERYONE!

Cuban Cigars for EVERYONE! 

The Gist

In a HUGE departure from stated American foreign policy goals, the Obama administration said it will start the process of normalizing relations with our communist neighbor, Cuba. Cuba is currently one of five countries that the Unites States does not have relations with (the others are: Iran, North Korea, Bhutan, and Taiwan). The United States severed relations in January 1961. The back channeling that got us here was helped by the media-loved Pope Francis, pot-loving President Jose Mucia of Uruguay and the ever likable Canadians. The announcement is seen as an admittance by the United States that isolating a country diplomatically and economically simply does not work (fifty years later and a Castro still rules Cuba). The Cuban expatriate community reaction, which is primarily Republican, will probably be mixed. On the one hand, they will be able to send much needed American dollars back home with less problems. On the other hand they might see this move as an acceptance that Cuba will not return to the days when Havana was a capitalist haven (and a haven for organized crime: Lucky Luciano held his famous Havana Conference at the mafia run Hotel Nacional). Reaction on Capitol was, unsurprisingly, divided among party lines (Cuban-American Senators Cruz, Menendez and Rubio were quick to comment). More important than the enormous geopolitical implications of this announcement, is the fact that lawyers, frat guys and businessmen all over America may be able to smoke Cuban cigars once more (CNN broke down the Cuban embargo for us)…and now you know the gist. 

The Disaster in Bhopal, India

The Disaster in Bhopal, India

The Gist

December 3rd marked the 30th anniversary of the Union Carbide explosion in Bhopal, India that killed several thousand and affected hundreds of thousands more. The plant's owner, Union Carbide, still contends the accident was an act of sabotage by a disgruntled employee (not, as many others contend, by lax safety protocols). Photographer Raghu Rai took heart wrenching photos of Bhopal in the days after the disaster and recently returned to photograph the people of Bhopal. To this day, many survivors suffer serious ailments or have children with birth defects because of the initial exposure to the toxic gas (or later exposure to contaminated drinking water). The area also has an alarmingly high cancer rate. Although the Indian government brought criminal charges against Union Carbide and its then chairman Warren Anderson (who has since passed away), both refused to partake in any proceeding. Union Carbide (now owned by Dow Chemical) provided $470 million to victims (activist say this is only half of what experts say is necessary to rehabilitate survivors). An Indian court recently sent Dow Chemical a summons to explain why it’s wholly owned subsidiary has not taken responsibility for their part in the worst industrial accident in history. If, like many suspect, Dow Chemical ignores the summons, the thousands of activists and survivors will simply keep shouting until one can’t help but listen…and now you know the gist.

Eric Garner, Cattle, and Bill O'Reilly

Eric Garner, Cattle, and Bill O'Reilly

The Gist

Eric Garner died after he was put in a choke hold, banned by the NYPD since 1993, by police officer Daniel Pantaleo who believed Garner was selling black market cigarettes. Although the grand jury was able to see the video that caught the whole incident (where Garner is heard to say “I can’t breathe” numerous times), they still didn't think it appropriate to indict Pantaleo. In order to indict, 12 of the 23 jurors on the grand jury must find the evidence presented to them is both legally sufficient and provides reasonable cause to believe that the defendant has committed the crime. A grand jury is considered a tool for prosecutors, who can offer a certain version of a story and do not have to present evidence that could exonerate the perpetrator. Defenders of Pantaleo allege that he was not using the choke hold (which he testified to at the grand jury), but rather a technique taught at the police academy and, had Garner not suffered from asthma and heart disease, he would have survived the incident. Others, say the chokehold/appropriate-police-academy-taught-maneuver was grossly disproportionate considering Garner had his hands up, was outnumbered and did not threaten the police officers. The Atlantic wrote a fascinating story that asked readers the following:

“imagine that Eric Garner had been white….the police hassled Garner because he had a history of selling untaxed cigarettes….the kind of big-government intrusion that drives Tea Partiers nuts…[this case] bears some resemblance to that of Cliven Bundy, the…rancher who…prevented Bureau of Land Management agents from impounding his cattle after he refused to pay government grazing fees. Like Garner, Bundy was engaged in a form of commerce he believed the government should not tax… [he] resisted law enforcement’s efforts to punish him for it. For many conservatives, this made Bundy a hero….” 

One does have to wonder why the grand jury decided decided not to indict when such polar opposites as Bill O’Reilly and Jon Stewart agree it should have…and now you know the gist.

Mustaches.

Mustaches.

The Gist

With November over, there should be a lot more clean-shaven men on the streets. Since 2004, the Australian charity Movember has both raised awareness of and millions for men’s health issues. Facial hair for men goes in and out of style, but for the majority of history it was seen as a sign that a boy was finally a man. In the Middle East, facial hair (or lack of facial hair) can even be a provocative political statement. CBS Sunday Morning recently did a piece on the World Beard and Mustache Championships, where one could see the Garibaldi (pictured), the English Mustache, the Dali Mustache, the Imperial Part Beard, the Amish beard, and the Fu Manchu, among others. Beards aside, the Movember organization has raised awareness on topics that are rarely talked about, not least because men don’t really like talking about their testicles and prostate (at least outside of a l0ckeroom). Over 8,000 men will be diagnosed with testicular cancer (which usually occurs in younger men) and over 230,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer (which usually happens in older men). Although statistically six million men suffer from depression in this country (depression peaks in men in their 20s and again in their 60s), the real figure is probably higher because depression, like anxiety, manifests itself differently in men than in women. To date, Movemeber has raised close to $200 million worldwide…and now you know the gist.