Die A Villain or Live Long Enough to See Yourself a Hero

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“Anyone who does anything to help a child in his life is a hero to me. ” – Fred Rogers

“The noir hero is a knight in blood caked armor. He’s dirty and he does his best to deny the fact that he’s a hero the whole time.” – Frank Miller

Israel and Iran Trade Fire: Israel says it destroyed almost all of Iran’s military infrastructure inside Syria in its biggest assault since the start of the latter’s civil war. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that early Thursday morning 20 rockets were launched at the Golan Heights by the Quds Force, the overseas operations arm of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps. An IDF spokesperson said four rockets were intercepted by Israel, while 16 others fell short of their targets; no injuries or damage were reported. Syria’s military said the Israeli strikes killed three people.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, confirmed that rockets were fired towards the Golan Heights from Syria, but that those attacks came after Israeli forces bombarded Baath, a town in the demilitarized zone. Russia, Germany, and France called on both countries to exercise restraint, but the US said Iran bore “full responsibility for the consequences of its reckless actions” and that Israel had a right to defend itself.

Additional read: Mattis pressed on Bolton’s, Giuliani’s support for regime change in Iran (CNN)

– ZTE, one of China’s most internationally successful technology suppliers, said on Wednesday it had ceased “major operating activities” after the Trump administration banned the company last month from using American-made components for the next seven years. If ZTE collapses, it would affect not only its 75,000 employees but large swaths of developing world, where the company’s telecommunications gear is used in cell towers and broadband internet infrastructure. (NYT)

– It’s been decided. Donald Trump will meet face to face with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on June 12 in Singapore. Trump announced the details on Thursday via Twitter: “The highly anticipated meeting between Kim Jong-un and myself will take place in Singapore on June 12th. We will both try to make it a very special moment for World Peace!” (The Guardian)

– Congress has published 3,500 Facebook ads that were created by Russia’s Internet Research Agency in an effort to divide Americans ahead of the 2016 presidential election and beyond. The ads targeted both “sides” of many hot-button issues, including race, gun control, LGBT rights, and immigration. Many of the ads came with instructions for Facebook to exclude people who are designated as showing Hispanic or Asian American “behavior” and to include people whose “behavior” is designated as “African American.” Facebook did not immediately respond to The Guardian’s request for clarification on how Facebook defines such “behaviors.” Please tell us, Facebook – we’d really love to know. (The Guardian)

More News Reads:

• Iraq’s Looming Election Has ISIS Spooked. Cross-sectarian amity ahead of the vote imperils the group’s existence—so it’s lashing out violently. (The Atlantic)
• Iraq used Baghdadi aide’s phone to capture Islamic State commanders(Reuters)
• Iran nuclear deal: France condemns US move to re-impose sanctions (BBC)
• Sanctioned Russian tycoon hands back his private jets (Reuters)
• Pulitzer Prize board investigates Junot Diaz over misconduct allegations(CNN)

Mexico’s Southern Border Problem: President Trump has recently tweeted much dismay over the group of families from Central America in the US seeking asylum. He complains that Mexico is doing little, if anything, to stop immigration. However, Mexico has a tough deportation force, in its southernmost state of Chiapas, which borders Guatemala, the northernmost state in Central America. Mexico’s immigration plan is called the Southern Border Plan; it launched in 2014 and the US is helping to fund it.

Under the plan, troops are not stationed on the border itself; rather, Mexico stations migration agents, local and federal police, soldiers, and marines to create a kind of containment zone in Chiapas. Since the plan launched in 2014, Mexico has deported more than half a million Central Americans, including almost 82,000 last year. Mexico has deported more Central Americans annually since 2015 than US authorities have, in some years more than twice as many. Nearly half of migrants detained in Mexico don’t make it past Chiapas state. As a bus driver shuttling between Mexico’s southeastern border and the nearest city, Tapachula, said: “They put up lots of checkpoints, immigration [agents], federal police, soldiers, local police. I don’t get many migrants on the bus anymore because of the checkpoints.”

Mexico’s Military Problem: In 2006, the Mexican government was losing the battle against drug gangs. So it empowered its military to help combat drug trafficking and organized crime. The army’s role has expanded under the last two administrations to include policing operations in addition to fighting drug gangs. But also soaring were formal complaints filed by civilians with different government agencies, alleging torture, extrajudicial killings, and forced disappearances. In the last 12 years, an estimated 32,000 people have been reported missing. Mexico’s failure to investigate cases left families desperate for answers but feeling they had nowhere to turn.

One family in Chihuahua lost three relatives in 2009 when a group of armed men in military uniforms took the civilians away, never to be heard from again. With no help from the Mexican government, the family turned to an international court, the Costa Rica-based Inter-American Court of Human Rights, where they are represented by the Center for Women’s Human Rights, a Mexican advocacy and legal aid organization. Their story is part of a case, heard by the court last week, involving accusations of human rights violations by the Mexican military during those government operations that were put in place to fight drug trafficking more than a decade ago. While drug gangs are suspected in many of the disappearances, evidence suggests government security forces are responsible for others.

– We love reading and bookstores. We love libraries more than bookstores, but bookstores get our love too. Growing up in the 90s we spent a lot of time at Barnes & Noble, which was depicted in “You’ve Got Mail” as the enemy to independent bookstores and the reason many smaller stores closed. In 1993, there were 5100 American Bookseller Association members and now there are 1757. But now as fate would have it, Barnes & Noble’s existence is imperiled thanks to Amazon. My how quickly the waves of change and capitalism switch the winners and losers (Kodak, Blockbuster, etc…). In Barnes & Noble’s case, it either dies a villain (in the 90s), or lives long enough to see itself a hero (today). (Outline and Tablet)

– Growing up our parents always reminded us to stop slouching and stand up straight. Now we know that “the very notion of what in the ancient world defines the human being in contrast to all other living things is simple: upright posture.” (Nautilus)

– “As you grow up and experience more of the ups and downs of the economy, you will notice a piece of mindbending hypocrisy: during the good times, bankers, entrepreneurs—rich people in general—tend to be against government. They criticize it as a ‘brake on development,’ a ‘parasite’ feeding on the private sector through taxation, an ‘enemy of freedom and entrepreneurship.’…And yet, when a crash occurs that is brought on by their actions, those who have delivered the fieriest of speeches vehemently opposing substantial government intervention in the economy suddenly demand the state’s aid.” (Lit Hub)

– Some children grow up without parents, and some children grow up without even having a real shot in life: “Children of the Opioid Epidemic: In the midst of a national crisis, mothers addicted to drugs struggle to get off them — for their babies’ sake, and their own.” (NYT)

– Some people have all of the privilege that life can afford, and yet can’t seem to leave heroes or legends alone: “White House Official on McCain’s Opposition to Haspel: ‘He’s Dying Anyway.’” (New York Magazine)

– John McCain is a war hero who suffered many broken bones as a POW, but his “broken marriage fractured other ties as well.” (LA Times)

– Unlike McCain, this former US military officer is not a war hero: “This American Is A General For A Foreign Army Accused Of War Crimes In Yemen.” (BuzzFeed)

– Don’t let the news get you down. But it might not be the news that is getting you down – it might just be that you are eating “these 7 foods [that] are scientifically proven to put you in a bad mood” while reading, watching, or listening to the news. (Business Insider)

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