Gaza Israel Hamas.

Facebook Homepage Response.

The intriguing sidebar/s of the new Israel/Palestine-Hamas crisis. 

       China and Iran. China’s trade expansionism, and obvious need for more oil, kind of shakes. Chinese imports of sanctioned Iranian oil are running at the highest level in at least a decade as rising global prices make the discounted crude more attractive. Meanwhile, China also ups imports from Russia and Venezuela in the first nine months of 2023, according to an average of data provided by tanker trackers Vortexa and Kpler.

       Saudi Arabia and China. This summer, Saudi Aramco bought a giant Chinese oil refinery, Rongsheng, which boasts of a processing capacity of 800,000 bpd and production capacity of 4.2 million metric tonnes (mmt) of ethylene per year. Saudi Arabia and Israel talks. And Egypt and UAE and Iran (along with Ethiopia and Argentina) join or align with BRICS. This war will definitely shudder these new scenarios or power alignments or end of conflicts in the region. (I thought "arms for oil" deals are over). 

       Meanwhile, I doubt Iran is still backing Hamas after Quds chief Qasem Soleimani was taken out for good by a US drone hit in 2020. But if this tempest continues, oil shipment activity at Strait of Hormuz, which Iran (and Oman) controls most might get derailed. China, which didn't budge in re Taiwan bait, gets "hit." Also, China and BRICS buddy India have eased recent border issues per NY Times. I think Ukraine is done. Focus is in the Middle East where power movements are happening that threatens G7 and its business interests. 🇮🇱☮️🇵🇸

The Confounding U.S. Migrant Crisis.

UPDATES: New York Times: “With Unrealistic Immigration Proposals, DeSantis and Trump Try to Outdo Each Other.” And adds: “In dueling speeches, the two Republican candidates pushed for mass deportations, a position that is as extreme as it may be unfeasible.” Since May, the average number of daily illegal crossings has been around 3,360 to 5,000, according to Homeland Security. Isn’t this a no brainer? There’ll be less deportation blah if the border is actually guarded. 

       Associated Press: “Biden administration waives 26 federal laws to allow border wall construction in South Texas.” Biden’s move marks his administration’s first use of an executive power employed often during the Trump presidency. Some 450 miles of multiple border wall projects would’ve cost $18.4 billion but the Trump plan was halted due to “depleted funds.” Yet late last year, Congress easily approved a $113 billion aid package to Ukraine.              

       More New York Times: “U.S. Will Build Stretch of Border Wall and Begin Deportations to Venezuela.” And adds: “The decisions underscore the challenges facing the Biden administration as humanitarian crises around the world drive more migrants to the U.S. border.” 🗽🏃‍♀️🏃

Associated Press: “Under pressure over border, Biden administration to protect hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans.” The Biden administration has announced that it was granting temporary legal status to hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans who are already in the country as it grapples with growing numbers of people fleeing the South American country and elsewhere to arrive at the U.S. border. 

       That would mean the Homeland Security Department will give Temporary Protected Status to an estimated 472,000 Venezuelans who arrived in the country as of July 31, 2023, making it easier for them to get authorization to work in the U.S.

       And so as New York City panics how to handle the surge of migrants, others which are less endowed as The Big Apple, face the same. New York Times: “Officials Scramble to Respond as Migrants Overwhelm Texas City.” And adds: “The mayor of Eagle Pass said 2,500 migrants arrived in one day, part of a recent surge in crossings along the border that has taxed local, state and federal resources.”

       Yet another NY Times report: “Biden Plan Seeks to Keep Migrants Away From the Border. Will It Work?” The band-aid: By opening migration processing centers in three Latin American countries, President Biden tries to coax people not to make a trek to the border.

       Still: “One Day on the Border: 8,900 Migrants Arrested, and More on the Way.” A sudden surge of people from around the globe is showing up at the southern border, despite dangers and deportations. “If you don’t take risks, you cannot win,” said one man who traveled from Peru per NY Times story.

       Endlessly baffling. Around 5,000 migrants cross the border to the U.S. on a daily basis. Not 50 or 500, but 5,000. Is there really a gate, barrier, or wall that separates the U.S. from Mexico? Of course, your response is yes. So where are the border guards? Long discussion, I know. Tragically comical, it is. Or a Political Theater of The Absurd. 🗽🏃‍♀️🏃