#early is barely in time at CBP

[tinynightmare1]

Today the world’s busiest border is closed while men, women and children are being attacked. Last night, I crossed back into into the United States at the border at San Ysidro after spending three days cooking and preparing a Thanksgiving meal for these migrants who have come under fire while protesting, all while trying to seek legal asylum.

For the second time in the past four days, the border is closed. The media is reporting a group broke through militarized efforts to keep them at bay, away from the border. According to some who live at the border, a few tried to break through the fence and other friends who live there say they are protesting. They are holding hand-painted American flags, chanting “we are not criminals, we are international workers” as rubber bullets are being fired at them and gas is being released by the very country they are trying so desperately to enter. A few people from the caravan threw rocks, while another tried to reach land to seek asylum. A team of CBP, police and military have shut down the Las Americas Mall on the U.S. side and police are currently telling everyone to leave the area. But our country is not under attack. Our country is simply standing for what it has always stood for: a beacon of hope and a ray of light for those seeking a better life.

The only attack on the U.S. is coming from the racism, exclusionism and xenophobia that aims to kill Horatio Alger’s tale of the American Dream. That aims to be the nail in the coffin of what America once stood for—the same words that are written on the tablets of the Statue of Liberty. The only attack on America is from the gun it is pointing at itself aimed at the American values and morals that were once encompassed in a holiday called “Thanksgiving”.

In elementary school we are taught that Thanksgiving is celebration to remember to give thanks, to gather, share and to commemorate the “First Thanksgiving”. The Pilgrims of Plymouth, Massachusetts sat around a table with 90 Native Americans to give thanks to the harvest that year in 1621. They celebrated an earnest relationship between the pilgrims and the local native Americans who had taught the immigrants how to survive by planting corn and catching eel as well as providing supplies when those brought from England were insufficient.

Every year, a country founded by European ancestors celebrates a holiday where we were once the hungry, the poor, the dying—the people who needed help from those who knew the land and had the knowledge to survive. These pilgrims sought this help in order to survive because the dream of a better life in a new place outweighed the prospects of going back to where they came from. These hopes and dreams of those European immigrants are not much different than those of the immigrants and asylum seekers currently residing in Tijuana hoping for the chance of a better life. That is why I chose to celebrate my Thanksgiving by making food for the tired, the poor, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free teeming at the border in Tijuana.

I had awoke at 3 a.m. a couple days before Thanksgiving and turned to the news on my phone to pass the early morning hours before falling back asleep. The news was riddled with a demonization of the “migrant caravan” and a few videos of actual people making this trek who are fleeing a collapsing economy, violent gangs and a corrupt government that the U.S. is responsible for. I felt a deep punch to my gut and I knew I couldn’t stomach the hypocrisy of celebrating the upcoming holiday gathered around a table gorging myself on food, “celebrating” European immigrants being welcomed to this land while our current American government and media demonized a group of migrants trying to find a better, safer life. With a personal family history that dates back to the Mayflower, I couldn’t find any honor in celebrating those who paved the way for me to exist in this country when we have people just 15 miles away from my house seeking the same opportunities for their children and future descendents. As little of an impact I knew I would make, I decided to make a traditional Thanksgiving meal and build a bridge instead of a wall and let the migrants know that not all of America felt they should be unwelcomed.

The First Thanksgiving took place over the course of three days, coincidentally it took three days to gather food, cook, and gather a few crazy people to help me cook and deliver the food to some of the migrants. I had called my friends at The Heart & Trotter Butchery to see if I can swing by and pick up a couple leftover turkeys for the cause and they graciously handed over three twenty pound turkeys and for 17 hours I cooked 60 pounds of Turkey, way more green bean casserole than I’d like to admit and some mashed potatoes. Amplified donated some boxes to package the food into and on Thanksgiving Day as I was finishing up the food I got a call from James saying there was extra Turkeys and he was going to cook eight more turkeys to help out and that he’d help deliver the food as well. It reminded me of that recent TED Talk of how crazy people start things all the time, but you really need the crazier, second person to follow suit to really make something happen and James was my second crazy person.

The next call I received was from Marla Gamez, a journalist and friend currently in TJ working with different shelters to help the migrants and who would help me figure out where to deliver the food. She explained that the border had been closed and there was fear of a potential clash at the border and that I should not come on Thanksgiving Day. She had been working with some of the more vulnerable people of the group: women, children and people of the LGBTQ community. She said they were trying to lie low and to wait until Saturday to deliver the food. I was slightly disappointed, but this really meant that I had more time and could just finish the eight more turkeys with less of a hectic schedule.

Everyday up until yesterday was consumed with trying to cook as much food as humanly possible. Despite the reports of some people in Tijuana also being upset at the mass amount of people in the city, my good friend Ruffo Ibarra who owns Oryx Capital in Tijuana signed on to help me heat up the food and give us a place to individually package the food into 250 boxes. Of course, being Ruffo, he couldn’t just reheat food. He recreated all the food, adding bone marrow to the turkey to add moisture, french honey to the cranberry sauce and mushrooms and spices to the green bean casserole to create a “Tex-mex” casserole and I had found my third crazy friend to help with the endeavor to celebrate the true meaning of Thanksgiving. When his staff came in for work they looked shocked that the kitchen had been taken over, but they quickly helped us finish the food before service began. How useless I felt in that moment as eight different people I’d barely met who just came in for another day of work, was the source of an immense amount of joy for Thanksgiving and pride for my good friend in what a great staff he has.

Over 36 hours of cooking 11 free-range turkeys, three crazy people, eight surprised kitchen staff and one passionate journalist later, we arrived at a local shelter with 250 individual packages of Thanksgiving dinner. All the work, all the effort and we realized it wasn’t enough. The shelter was teeming with hungry, tired, beat down men, women and children. There was a clinic next to the shelter for the migrants. A chorus of coughing echoed against the shy chatter. These people were some of the most vulnerable in the caravan group and there was a sea of them. Stained clothing, dirt on their faces - it was obvious they’d come a long way but were holding out to truly rest as we could tell their journey was far from over.

As we set up a table to serve the food they organized a line with women and children to be served first and a second line for the men, if there was food leftover. I had half expected a frenzy to occur, hungry people grabbing for what they could, but it never happened. They waited in line, graciously each asking or gesturing for permission to take a box of food. We had to start purposefully handing to the food to them as to say, “Yes, take this. It is meant for you” and the food was gone in less than ten minutes and it was nowhere near enough. This shelter represented just a small percentage of the whole group who was there and the more that are on their way—seeking a better life.

As we approached the border last night there was a strange taste in the air. There was a strange familiarity of the usual border line vendors hustling to sell illuminated balloons and ceramic Jesus statues and for a moment I felt like maybe everything would work out. As we approached the port of entry however, it was clear this was not the same as any other day crossing the border. The vendors hadn’t taken a break because they knew some sort of peace I didn’t, they didn’t stop hustling because they couldn’t afford to. Even with the “Welcome to the United States of America” signs covered in shiny barbed wire looming over them, they were there hustling as if it were just the same as always. And when the Border Patrol came out in full riot gear, and when the police came out in full riot gear, and when the military marched out in a single file lines between the thousands of vehicles waiting in line—they graciously moved aside to continue their hustle. I couldn’t help but wonder how they felt about what was happening. I wonder what they think now, today that the border is closed and they can’t make a dollar from a burrito, or sell a sombrero to a tourist. I wonder where the puppies are that were being sold and if they found homes last night.

The “migrant caravan” of “dangerous people” as our “president” likes to call them are not dangerous - hell they’re not even rude. Yesterday, they barely wanted to look me in the face, almost as if they were undeserving of food. Yesterday children smiled as they ate from the small boxes. Today they are raising hand-painted American flags as rubber bullets are flying towards them, children are crying as they are met with tear gas and all I am left with is a feeling of “it wasn’t enough”. All I can hope is that a few people seeking a better life can have a little more energy from yesterday’s meal to fuel their fight for a better life than where they came from.

“Fake News,” screams our 45th president of the United States of America. Anything against him, anything against his agenda is labeled “Fake News.” Right now, as I type this, the media is reporting “clashes” between the migrant refugees from Central America and saying they “broke through” the police line in Tijuana to reach the border fence. These people are protesting, chanting, “we are not criminals” and they are being attacked with tear gas and with rubber bullets while headlines read, “Migrants Rush the U.S. Border.” These words are harmful, these phrases incite fear and they are not warranted. This is the only “Fake News” I see.

#MakeThanksgivingGreatAgain

[newstfionline]

Thursday, December 3, 2020

Barr Acknowledges Justice Dept. Has Found No Widespread Voter Fraud (NYT) Attorney General William P. Barr acknowledged on Tuesday that the Justice Department has uncovered no voting fraud “on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election,” a striking repudiation of President Trump’s groundless claims that he was defrauded. The statement from Mr. Barr affirming Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s win served as a harsh blow to Mr. Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the election.

A New Setback for Big Cities as Return to the Office Fades (WSJ) U.S. employees started heading back to the office in greater numbers after Labor Day but that pace is stalling now, delivering another blow to economic-recovery hopes in many cities. The recent surge in Covid-19 cases across the country has led to an uptick in Americans resuming work at home after some momentum had been building for returning to the workplace, property analysts said. Floor after floor of empty office space is a source of great frustration for landlords and companies. About a quarter of employees had returned to work as of Nov. 18, according to Kastle Systems, a security firm that monitors access-card swipes in more than 2,500 office buildings in 10 of the largest U.S. cities. The low level of employees at their desks is intensifying the pain for cities geared toward office life. Cities’ populations are falling as people working from home move to the suburbs or other less dense locations where they can find more living space for less money. Metro public-transportation systems in cities such as New York, San Francisco, Boston and Washington, D.C., have lost billions of dollars in revenue from months of employees favoring remote work. Many restaurants, shops and services that cater to a business crowd are barely hanging on, or have given up. Even some of the first companies to return to the workplace are now having second thoughts, reverting to remote work and Zoom calls.

Air Travel Decline (WSJ) An analysis of business travel trends suggests that somewhere between 19 and 36 percent of all air trips are projected to be lost permanently following whatever the eventual return to normalcy looks to be, as new wired business environments and cut budgets permanently change the face of the airline business. The 10 to 15 percent of business travelers account for 40 percent of revenue at the major global air carriers, with business trips contributing an estimated $334 billion out of the $1.1 trillion in travel revenue in 2019. The uncertainty of the foundation of the airline business could mean serious changes in the economics of air in the years to come.

Oklahoma declares day of prayer as virus surges (AP) As coronavirus continues surging in Oklahoma, nearing 200,000 cases, Gov. Kevin Stitt has declared Thursday a day of prayer and fasting in the state. “I believe we must continue to ask God to heal those who are sick, comfort those who are hurting and provide renewed strength and wisdom to all who are managing the effects of COVID-19,” Stitt said in a Monday statement.

Vaccine Profitability, By The Digits (Quartz) $1 trillion: Estimated global vaccine annual revenues, in the pre-Covid-19 days $4 billion: Estimated global flu shot annual revenues $10 billion: Projected Covid-19 vaccine annual revenues while the virus is still deemed a public health hazard $7 billion: Annual revenues Merck makes from the cancer drug Keytruda, alone $3: Minimum per-dose cost for AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine $25-$37: Per-dose cost for Moderna’s

Trump’s unfinished border wall faces uncertain future after Biden pledge to freeze construction (Washington Post) President Trump’s vision for a wall along the Mexico border will remain unfinished when he leaves office in January. The president-elect, Joe Biden, has pledged to stop construction after he is inaugurated, leaving Trump’s monumental project half-built and broken up by gaps. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials and military planners at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have had urgent meetings in recent days to prepare for Biden’s likely stop-work order. The officials acknowledge that the structure almost certainly will remain incomplete in areas where construction crews do not have time to wrap up their work by Jan. 20, Inauguration Day. The Trump administration has completed 415 miles, according to the latest CBP figures, and the agency says crews remain on track to complete 450 miles by the end of the year.

Armed bank robbers storm another Brazilian town, battle police in streets (Reuters) More than 20 armed robbers stormed a bank in a small Brazilian town on Wednesday, taking hostages, exchanging gunfire with police in the streets and killing one person before fleeing in a convoy of vehicles. The attack, in the early hours of the morning in the northern river port of Cametá, was the second such heist in as many days in Brazil, marking an escalation in the scale, organization and aggression of bank robberies. The attack on Wednesday saw the group of men, armed with high-caliber weapons, storm a Banco do Brasil bank, the Para state security ministry said. It was not immediately clear how many hostages had been taken or if they were all freed. Authorities also did not say how much money was stolen from the bank.

Europe’s schools still open, still relatively safe, through covid-19 second wave (Washington Post) When European schools reopened their classrooms in the spring, after the first wave of the coronavirus had crested, some parents expressed concern their children were being used as “guinea pigs” in a dangerous experiment. But to the extent that European schools have acted as laboratories for the world, the findings eight months later are largely positive. Most of Europe kept schools open even during a worst-on-the-planet second wave of infections this fall. And still, schools appear to be relatively safe environments, public health officials say. As long as they adhered to a now-established set of precautions—mask-wearing, hand-washing, ventilation—schools are thought to have played only a limited role in accelerating coronavirus transmission in Europe. Those conclusions contrast sharply with the prevailing wisdom in the United States, where public health officials have focused on low rates of positive coronavirus tests in the broader community as a prerequisite for in-person schooling. Some U.S. school districts recently announced that they are going remote again, as coronavirus cases rise, and other districts have yet to reopen their classrooms at all. “It is still difficult for me to understand why schools are closed in the United States,” said Otto Helve, a specialist in pediatric infectious diseases at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare who has studied coronavirus transmission in schools. “Schools are not driving the epidemic.” “It’s not that we think schools are no danger, that there’s no effect,” said Steven Van Gucht, the head of viral diseases at the Belgian public health agency. “Schools are the last thing to close; they’re really the last thing on the list. There is political pressure and societal pressure. We consider schooling an absolute priority.”

Macron’s double standards (Washington Post) The parliamentary allies of French President Emmanuel Macron were forced to backtrack this week over a controversial bill that sparked mass protests across the country. The proposed security law carried a provision that would ban recording police on active duty. Critics saw it as, among other things, a vehicle to punish journalists and activists attending protests, not least at a moment when a number of shocking incidents of police brutality have come to the fore. On Monday, Christophe Castaner, head of Macron’s La République En Marche party in parliament, said the legislation would be “completely rewritten.” The concession was prompted by hundreds of thousands of people defying pandemic-mandated restrictions and taking to the streets in dozens of cities and towns. The protests were largely peaceful and drew dozens of local elected officials in Paris, channeling the broader disquiet stoked by recent political and legal maneuvers by Macron’s government. Macron’s “legislators have shown that they’re not necessarily against shutting down the free circulation of information—it just has to be in their interest to do so,” wrote Paris-based journalist Cole Stangler. “Contrary to the image that France projects abroad, freedom of the press does, in fact, appear negotiable at home.” Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, a right-wing politician who joined Macron’s centrist movement, has also fanned the flames: Last month, he appeared to suggest that journalists covering protests ought to clear their coverage with the police to avoid the risk of detention, sparking an immediate backlash. And, even as the country battles a pandemic, he declared that the real “cancer” facing French society was the “lack of respect for authority.”

Rules for thee, not me (Foreign Policy) The reasoning behind a surprise resignation on Sunday of a Hungarian member of European parliament came to light on Tuesday, when Belgian media reported that Jozsef Szajer, an MEP with Viktor Orban’s right-wing Fidesz party had been arrested fleeing a mostly-male sex party in the center of Brussels. Police had broken up the party as it had violated coronavirus restrictions and said at least two of the participants claimed diplomatic immunity.

In Siberian coal country, signs of Russia’s shrinking population are everywhere (Washington Post) KEMEROVO, Russia—Maria Ivanko decided on the size of her family well before the coal mine where she works filed for bankruptcy and a pandemic plunged her into even greater uncertainty. Fifteen years ago, she had her first child and knew it would be her last. Evgenia Petrova, who also works at a coal mine near the Siberian city of Kemerovo, said she also intentionally had one child. And sitting to Petrova’s left in a roadside cafe, Elena Ponkratova, a local journalist, nodded in agreement. She has one child, a 25-year-old daughter. The small family sizes are indicative of Russia’s stagnant birthrates and slumping population, made more acute by the pressures of the pandemic. The population in the Kemerovo region declined by about 100,000 in just the past decade to 2.6 million, according to Russia’s statistics agency, Rosstat. Overall, Russia is expected to see its biggest population drop since 2006, accelerated by borders closed to migrants and coronavirus deaths that currently stand at more than 36,000. The government projects a 352,500-person population decline this year, according to a report from the RBC news website, with an estimated decrease of 1.2 million people between 2020 and 2024.

China’s space ambitions: robot on Mars, a human on the moon (AP) China’s landing of its third probe on the moon is part of an increasingly ambitious space program that has a robot rover en route to Mars, is developing a reusable space plane and is planning to put humans back on the lunar surface. The Chang’e 5, the first effort to bring lunar rocks to Earth since the 1970s, collected samples on Wednesday, the Chinese space agency announced. The probe landed Tuesday on the Sea of Storms on the moon’s near side. China is a generation behind the United States and Russia, but its secretive, military-linked program is developing rapidly. It is creating distinctive missions that, if successful, could put Beijing on the leading edge of space flight. In 2003, China became the third nation to launch an astronaut into orbit on its own, four decades after the former Soviet Union and the United States. Its first temporary orbiting laboratory was launched in 2011 and a second in 2016. Plans call for a permanent space station to be launched after 2022. China has launched its own Beidou network of navigation satellites so the Communist Party’s military wing, the People’s Liberation Army, doesn’t need to rely on the U.S.-run GPS or a rival Russian system.

No global financial support for Lebanon until govt in place: French presidency (Reuters) France’s presidency said on Wednesday that there would be no international financial support for Lebanon until there was a government in place and warned that an audit of the central bank was more urgent than ever. A financial meltdown has crashed Lebanon’s currency, paralyzed banks, sent inflation soaring and increased poverty. Suggestions of a looming end to subsidies have triggered panic buying. “To borrow or lend money you need trust and trust isn’t there,” a French presidential official said ahead of a video conference to assess the humanitarian situation. “We will stay like this as long as there is no credible government in place.”

Gantz Backs Vote to Dissolve Knesset (Foreign Policy) Israel’s unlikely coalition government is on even shakier foundations today as Israeli lawmakers vote to dissolve the Knesset. Benny Gantz, the leader of the Blue and White party and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition partner, has said he would support the measure, setting up a showdown that could lead to another election—the country’s fourth in two years. Gantz’s decision comes out of frustration over the government’s failure to pass a budget for 2021, which, if passed, would essentially lock in Gantz’s ability to assume the office of prime minister next November as per the terms of the coalition deal struck between Likud and Blue and White in April. “Netanyahu has decided to dissolve the government and drag Israel into an election,” Gantz said in a statement to the media. Although budget issues are the proximate cause of the Knesset vote, recent developments have likely made Gantz wary that Netanyahu will hand over the premiership in November. U.S. President-elect Joe Biden should not expect an easier ride on Iran policy if Gantz does take power, an Israeli government source told Foreign Policy. There is “no daylight” between Netanyahu and Gantz on the question of the U.S.-led “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran.