Basic membership in the Forum costs more than $70,000, and getting to the event by helicopter or car is expensive, as are accommodations. There also numerous glittering parties hosted by celebrities like Bono and Leonardo DiCaprio. But those parties can have a sharp edge: one had attendees crawl on their hands and knees to feel what is like to flee an army.
The Golden Matthew 19:14 Award ("Suffer the little children") to Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen for threatening to seize the children of poor people if parents commit crimes or fail to teach children "Danish values." The parliament has designated 25 "ghetto" areas -- Denmark's term -- which Muslim immigrants are crowded into. Families living in "ghettos" must send their children -- starting at age one -- to schools for 25 hours a week where they are taught about Christmas, Easter and the Danish language. Failure to do so can result in a welfare cutoff. Proposals are also being considered to double prison sentences for anyone from a "ghetto" convicted of a crime, and a four-year prison sentence for parents who send their children back to their home countries to learn about their cultures. The neo-fascist People's Party, part of the governing coalition, proposed forcing all "ghetto" children to wear electronic ankle bracelets and be confined to their homes after 8 PM. The measure was tabled.
Runners up are:
* The British Home Office, which, according to a report by the House of Lords, is using children for undercover operations against drug dealers, terrorists and criminal gangs. "We are concerned that enabling a young person to participate in covert activity for an extended period of time may expose them to increased risk in their mental and physical welfare" the Lord's report concluded.
* The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for placing Dr. Ruth Etzel, head of Children's Health Protection, on administrative leave and derailing programs aimed at reducing children's exposure to lead, pesticides, mercury and smog. Etzel was pressing to tighten up regulations because children are more sensitive to pollutants than adults. A leader in children's environmental health for more than 30 years, Etzel was asked for her badge, cell phone and keys and put on administrative leave.
The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight Award to arms maker Raytheon (with a tip of the hat to contributors Northup Grumman and Lockheed Martin) for its Patriot anti-missile that has downed exactly one missile in 28 years of use (and that was a clunky old Scud). An analysis of the missile interceptor system by Jeffrey Lewis of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, Ca., concluded that Patriot is "a lemon." Writing in Foreign Policy, Lewis says, "I am deeply skeptical that Patriot has ever intercepted a long-range ballistic missile in combat." But it sure sells well. Saudi Arabia forked over $5.4 billion for Patriots in 2015, Romania $4 billion in 2017, Poland $4.5 billion in 2018, and Turkey $3.5 billion this year.
The Golden "Say What?" Award has three winners:
* The US Department of Defense for cutting a deal in the Yemen civil war to allow al-Qaeda members -- the organization that brought us the Sept.11 attacks -- to join with the Saudis and United Arab Emirates (UAE) in their fight against the Houthis. According to Associated Press, while the Saudis claim that their forces are driving al-Qaeda out of cities, in fact, the terrorist organization's members were allowed to leave with their weapons and looted cash. US drones gave them free passage. Why, you may ask? Because the Houthis are supported by Iran.
* Saudi Arabia and the UAE for bankrolling a series of racist and Islamaphobic attacks on newly elected Muslim Congress members Ilhan Omar (D-Minn) and Rashid Tlaib (D-Mi) because the Gulf monarchy accuses both of being members of the Muslim Brotherhood. Neither is, but both are critical of the absolute monarchs of the Persian Gulf and are opposed to the Saudi-instigated war in Yemen.
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