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Neven

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and Histor
« Reply #450 on: April 13, 2019, 02:08:30 PM »
Man, you live in a parallel universe. Oil profits for the advance of social policies in the last 20 years?

I'm sorry, I thought this was common knowledge. Texts like these can be found all over the Internet:

Quote
A key belief of Chavismo is that the state should support social welfare programs for its citizens. For instance, Chavez often used populist rhetoric to galvanize the lower classes and the disenfranchised with promises to make their lives better. Revenue from Venezuela’s significant oil reserves were put into programs designed to reduce poverty, improve education, and establish social justice and social welfare within Venezuela.

A video I posted earlier from The Real News Network has some of the numbers on poverty, education, child mortality, housing, etc, I believe. The video also argues that Chavez had failed to wean the Venezuelan economy off of oil. So, the improvement for the majority of the Venezuelan people has taken place, but it was built on shaky foundations, especially if a terrorist organisation like the USA has decided to launch a (c)overt regime change operation.

Do you have any more videos from hip, privileged YouTubers who fail to mention that their daddies are neoliberal economists, who are pushing for a return to white class feudalism in Venezuela?
The enemy is within
Don't confuse me with him

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #451 on: April 15, 2019, 07:35:02 AM »
 A hawkish US think tank has hosted a secretive meeting on Venezuela, bringing together American and South American officials to discuss the “use of military force” in the country, investigative journalist Max Blumenthal told RT.

The exclusive piece shedding some light on the secretive gathering was published by the Grayzone portal on Saturday. Blumenthal has obtained a check-in list of a private roundtable dubbed ‘Assessing the Use of Military Force in Venezuela,’ which was hosted by the DC-based think tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

    Exclusive: DC's @CSIS hosted a who's who of Trump Latin America advisors for a private roundtable to discuss waging a US military assault on Venezuela. The meeting included the former head of SOUTHCOM, a Colombian general and USAID & NIC officials. https://t.co/qVlDZ2WdoTpic.twitter.com/fateSAwR0w
    — Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) 14 апреля 2019 г.

Video
https://www.rt.com/news/456499-venezuela-invasion-secret-meeting/

Grayzone
Meeting was on April 10 at 3 PM.
https://thegrayzone.com/2019/04/13/us-military-attack-venezuela-trump-csis-invasion/

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #452 on: April 15, 2019, 11:48:48 AM »
Russia replaces Venezuelan crude on European markets
Published time: 15 Apr, 2019

 European refiners are switching to Russian sour grades as US sanctions have shrunk Venezuela’s similar-grade exports, Reuters reports, adding that the Russian sour crude is getting increasingly expensive.

Citing sources from the trading industry, Reuters says the situation has been made worse by the fact that OPEC members have cut mainly their output of heavier, more sour grades under the OPEC+ agreement aimed at stimulating a price rise.

Sanctions on Iran are further complicating life for European refiners as they have restricted exports of sour grades that Iran also produces in addition to its very popular superlight crude, also called condensate.

The news is the latest reminder that the world is tipping towards a shortage of heavy, sour crude, which is the staple kind of Venezuela crude and which many refineries need to produce fuels and other products.

According to Reuters, US sanctions have removed 800,000 bpd of heavy crude from the global market, leaving refiners scrambling for alternatives in a limited pool that, besides Russia and Middle Eastern producers, also includes Canada and Mexico as large producers of these grades of crude.

Canada is having its own problems with a pipeline capacity shortage and a production cut that has boosted prices [ and so Canada heavy grade still not getting to the Koch refineries in Texas that were using Venezuelan crude until 2019 ], and Mexico has yet to reverse a fall in oil production.

https://www.rt.com/business/456516-russia-venezuela-crude-markets/

That's 'Kaching' for Russia :)

[ and from where will Citgo get it's heavy sour crude to run through it's 3 US Refineries in order for Citgo to stay in business selling gasoline, oil products, and heating oil to the US market- they won't be getting any more from Venezuela ....  ]

sidd

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #453 on: April 16, 2019, 05:45:26 AM »
Tightening the screws: more sanctions

"US has again hit shipping companies doing business with Venezuela"

"four shipping companies and nine vessels"

"Jennifer Navigation Ltd (Liberia), Lime Shipping Corp (Liberia), Large Range Ltd (Liberia), and PB Tankers S.P.A. (Italy)."

"all property and interests in property of these entities, and of any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, 50 percent or more by the designated entities, that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked"

"Venezuela was still shipping crude oil to ally Cuba in the amount of 1 million barrels just days after the US levied sanctions on Venezuela-to-Cuba oil shipments "

https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/US-To-Slap-Even-More-Sanctions-On-Venezuela-To-Kill-Off-Oil-Exports-To-Cuba.html

sidd

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #454 on: April 17, 2019, 02:14:36 AM »
Vultures gather in Bogota:

"Members of a counterintelligence unit known as la Sombra—“the Shadow”—sent by the embattled Maduro regime. "

"Mercenaries and ex-Venezuelan officers plotting their next move."

"Sergei Skripal, a former double agent working for MI6, was sent to help the Colombians figure out what to do about the growing Russian presence."

"The U.S. isn’t yielding the playing field: Its Bogotá mission, one of the largest in the world, has 3,000 employees."

"Colombia recognized Guaidó as Venezuela’s president and revoked diplomatic status for Maduro’s representatives. "

"ex-Venezuelan military who camp in Bogotá to plot coups d’état. "

"The Colombian authorities despise Maduro and are eager to see him driven from power. But the presence of armed agents makes them nervous. "

"authorities have caught and deported a handful of alleged Maduro-sent infiltrators. "

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-04-16/mercenaries-spies-and-double-agents-gather-en-masse-in-bogot

sidd

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #455 on: April 17, 2019, 05:06:01 PM »
The US should step away from belligerent rhetoric and wind down its wasteful militaristic policies, former congressman Ron Paul told RT, after its Secretary of State accused Beijing and Moscow of bankrolling the Venezuelan leader.

https://www.rt.com/usa/456777-ron-paul-china-us/

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #456 on: April 18, 2019, 08:51:18 PM »
48 billion USD for VZ if maduro diselected:

" $48 billion infusion of capital into the Venezuelan economy should President Nicolás Maduro be removed from office. "

" open the country’s beleaguered economy to foreign corporations through privatization, structural reforms, and public-private partnerships"

" the bank calls “priority actions”: eliminating obstacles for private companies, financing international trade, and establishing new legislation to re-privatize government-owned companies."

https://theintercept.com/2019/04/18/venezuela-idb-maduro-guaido/

sidd

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #457 on: April 18, 2019, 10:07:34 PM »
USA adds sanctions on VZ, Nicaragua:

"National Security Advisor John Bolton also unveiled measures against a third leftist government in Latin America, Nicaragua, with sanctions against President Daniel Ortega's son."

"The United States said it would forbid all Americans' dealings and block any US assets of the Central Bank of Venezuela as well as its director, Iliana Josefa Ruzza Teran "

https://www.yahoo.com/news/us-imposes-sanctions-venezuelas-central-bank-191400263.html

sidd

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #458 on: April 19, 2019, 06:25:52 AM »
48 billion USD for VZ if maduro diselected:

" $48 billion infusion of capital into the Venezuelan economy should President Nicolás Maduro be removed from office. "

" open the country’s beleaguered economy to foreign corporations through privatization, structural reforms, and public-private partnerships"

" the bank calls “priority actions”: eliminating obstacles for private companies, financing international trade, and establishing new legislation to re-privatize government-owned companies."

https://theintercept.com/2019/04/18/venezuela-idb-maduro-guaido/

sidd

Silly me, and there I was assuming that calling for free and fair UN supervised elections in Venezuela meant the people of Venezuela were to get to decide by VOTING how their nation was being run and who would lead it?

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #459 on: April 19, 2019, 09:25:46 PM »
Rosneft shields PDVSA from US sanctions:

"PDVSA has started passing invoices from its oil sales to Rosneft. "

"shipments in April to Reliance - owner of the world’s biggest refining complex – would be settled via Rosneft. "

"Reliance’s joint chief financial officer, told reporters on Thursday it was buying Venezuelan oil via Russian and also Chinese companies."

https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics-rosneft-exclusive/exclusive-venezuela-skirts-u-s-sanctions-by-funneling-oil-sales-via-russia-idUKKCN1RU2A4

Ambani (reliance chief) has decided the the USA can be ignored.The reach of Empire now exceeds its grasp.

sidd

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #460 on: April 20, 2019, 04:24:35 AM »
an echo ...

Frankly I do not care what happens in or to Venezuela btw.

It's none of my business let alone my responsibility to fix.

The key issue for me is not Venezuela itself but that it again presents another opportunity for millions of people in and out of the USA to finally face up to and shake off their Conditioning.


It's an opportunity for people to re-evaluate, to drop their many Cultural Myths and personal Beliefs that are no longer sustainable in present time.

That those myths and beliefs they have lived their entire lives accepting as obvious self-evident truths are now far less sustainable any more than BAU on this planet is Sustainable. 

Events like Venezuela then is another opportunity for people to confront themselves and change how they think about everything now.

The more who do this the better for everyone, the planet and our descendents.

b_lumenkraft

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #461 on: April 21, 2019, 05:14:08 PM »
This belongs here.

Noam Chomsky on Bernie Sanders' foreign policy & Tulsi Gabbard


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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #462 on: April 24, 2019, 06:37:53 AM »
Khan’s visit also magically coincided with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s announcement that it was clamping down hard on countries who sought to buy Iranian oil, namely, India, Japan, South Korea, Turkey and of course, China, who account for about half of Iranian oil exports
https://www.rt.com/op-ed/457326-pakistan-iran-khan-cooperation-fear/

Could it be only an incidental coincidence that India, Japan, South Korea, Turkey and China are/were also Venezuela's major buyers of Oil?

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #463 on: April 25, 2019, 10:55:02 AM »
Activists occupying the Venezuelan embassy in Washington in solidarity with President Nicolas Maduro's government are bracing for confrontation as authorities prepare to try to seize the building on behalf of the opposition.

The Embassy Civilian Protection Collective has promised not to leave the embassy until the US comes to an agreement with the Venezuelan government to end the regime-change operation it is attempting on its soil. As of Wednesday evening, the deadline Venezuelan diplomats were given when they were ordered to leave the US, Secret Service agents were encircling the diplomatic building, which is considered Venezuelan property under international law. The group believes they will attempt to seize it by force on Thursday.

    US Secret Service starting to gather outside the Venezuelan Embassy ahead of the expected raid pic.twitter.com/ZyWE3XxXJS
    — Alex Rubinstein (@RealAlexRubi) April 24, 2019

After watching forces loyal to opposition leader Juan Guaido take over Venezuelan diplomatic buildings in Washington and New York last month, Popular Resistance co-founders Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers and Code Pink founder Medea Benjamin decided to hold a vigil to prevent the Venezuelan embassy from meeting the same fate. After securing permission from the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry, they moved in, and have since been joined by journalists Max Blumenthal and Alex Rubinstein, whistleblower John Kiriakou, and a host of other activists

https://www.rt.com/usa/457473-activists-occupy-venezuelan-embassy-guaido/



sidd

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #464 on: April 26, 2019, 09:10:23 PM »
Ghosts of sanctions past: Venezuela repeats Iraq

"economic sanctions implemented by the Trump administration since August 2017 have caused tens of thousands of deaths "

http://cepr.net/press-center/press-releases/report-finds-us-sanctions-on-venezuela-are-responsible-for-tens-of-thousands-of-deaths

sidd

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #465 on: April 27, 2019, 08:03:22 AM »
"economic sanctions implemented by the Trump administration since August 2017 have caused tens of thousands of deaths "

This will come as news to some. Others knew this for long.

It seems to be a consensus that oil is key here.

I suggest people should look into the correlation between countries trying to get rid of the dollar as currency and countries being attacked by the US.

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #466 on: April 27, 2019, 08:54:54 AM »
I doubt the oil/dollar connection is key in venezuela, rather Empire resisting incursion against Monroe.

In fact i doubt the oil/dollar connection matters much any more. Forex market exchanges on the order of 10 trillion USD per day, it is very liquid.

The main thing the USA wants is oil revenues invested in USA denominated debt, or at least USA bank controlled debt. You may say that is a quibble, but the banks own capitol hill, and the banks these days have no real affiliation to the dollar as medium of exchange, store of value or unit of account.

sidd

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #467 on: May 01, 2019, 02:03:42 AM »
Oh boy, it's a very crazy world in which we live.

Quote
John Wight - Irish leftie journalist

At the behest of Washington the Venezuelan opposition leader has embarked on a reckless gambit that carries with it overtones of Guatemala in 1954; Brazil 1964; Chile 1973; Nicaragua 1979-1990; El Salvador 1979-1992; Grenada 1983; and Haiti 1994. In other words, in 2019 Washington has reverted to the blood-soaked imperialist type in its dealings with Latin and South America...

[ may as well throw into the mix the Ukraine, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Iran, Turkey, Georgia, Cuba, the Philippines under Marcos, the Vietnam War, Indonesia, Greece Military coups, Yugoslavia, Palestine, Lebanon, and the old eastern bloc countries ...]


Those who continue to harbour the belief that the welfare of the Venezuelan people has anything whatsoever to do with the events now underway only confirm the timeless wisdom of legendary Venezuelan leader Simon Bolivar, otherwise known as ‘El Liberator’. To paraphrase: “Ignorant people,” he reminds us, “are the blind instrument of their own destruction.”

No, this ugly and wretched business in Venezuela has nothing, not a thing, to do with its people or their welfare.

https://www.rt.com/op-ed/457965-guaido-us-coup-venezuela/


That 50 or so US aligned countries are behind this kind of thing says how little progress has been made since time of Vietnam. Back then barely a handful supported the USA.

sidd

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #468 on: May 01, 2019, 05:58:43 AM »
Empire flails. The USA of old would have a dead Maduro and handpicked generals in the presidential palace weeks ago.

Bolton and Pompeo are probably repeating overblown claims about split in Maduro cabinet or (less likely, they ain't that smart) trying to engender a split. Guaido reminds me of Chalabi, who sang a sweet, sweet song about Iraqis welcoming American troops with flowers and Iraqi oil paying for the invasion. All they need now is a link between VZ and Al Queda.

"Three members of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's inner circle agreed with the opposition that he "had to go" but then backtracked"

"Bolton has alleged Venezuela's Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino was one of the men involved ... However, Mr Padrino appeared on television surrounded by soldiers on Tuesday, asserting their continued loyalty to Mr Maduro."

"Bolton also named Supreme Court chief judge Maikel Moreno and presidential guard commander Ivan Rafael Hernandez Dala."

"Bolton offered no evidence"

"At one point, Mr López, who leads the Popular Will party of which Mr Guaidó is a member, and his family took refuge in the Chilean diplomatic residence."

"But on Tuesday evening, he left and moved to the Spanish embassy, according to a tweet from the Chilean Foreign Minister Roberto Ampuero."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-48114826

sidd
« Last Edit: May 01, 2019, 07:00:44 AM by sidd »

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #469 on: May 01, 2019, 08:32:31 AM »
Was in the Chilean embassy but on Tuesday evening, he left and moved to the Spanish embassy, according to a tweet from the Chilean Foreign Minister Roberto Ampuero."

I highly recommend the Ecuador embassy in Caracas. :)

Neven

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #470 on: May 01, 2019, 09:41:22 AM »
Neoliberal puppet Guaido calls for violence:



Quote
SHARMINI PERIES And, Mike, explain to us the way in which this unfolded this morning. How did you come to know about it?

MIKE FOX Well, it was a tweet, actually, that came out from Juan Guaido. I think it was a Periscope through his Twitter account. And that really lit everything on fire. And obviously that tweet, in it he called for insurrection. He had military members behind him. He had Leopoldo Lopez, who is a longtime member of the opposition who’s been under house arrest for many years for his role in the guarimbas, in which dozens of people were killed. And he was obviously with him. He was out of his house, and he was out. They were just outside of the military base. And he insinuated in his tweet that they had occupied that base. And many people thought that actually a coup had taken place because of the military orders behind him.

Now, there’s been other videos that have surfaced, one in particular just recently, in which many of those same military members–Now, this is unconfirmed, but if the video is true, many of those militaries, those soldiers that were there behind him were actually brought there by mistake. They say they were tricked by their commanding officer.

SPEAKER Yesterday, at approximately 6pm, we were told to get our ‘patriot’ uniform, to receive a decoration and news that would change our lives. That’s what they told us.

That’s what they are looking for, a confrontation of military against military, but we showed them that they can’t.

And here's some nice info:

Quote
GREG WILPERT Yeah, I just want to add one other thing that’s an important new development. Just today Reuters reported that Erik Prince has unveiled a plan to hire mercenaries to overthrow Maduro. Now, this was a secret plan that Reuters just reported on this morning, so I don’t think that’s too much of a coincidence. It doesn’t seem clear whether the Trump administration would move forward with it. But also the fact that Pompeo, the Secretary of State Pompeo, National Security Adviser Bolton, and Senator Marco Rubio have all in synchronization with Guaido tweeted about this incident saying that we’re spending 100 percent behind you. It’s again another indication that this is an effort that has an international dimension, and not just something that was happening in Venezuela.

SHARMINI PERIES And just to remind folks, Erik Prince was the CEO of Blackwater. And that’s the company that carried out various atrocities and played this role in Iraq and Afghanistan.

That's what happens when you don't put your war criminals in jail.
The enemy is within
Don't confuse me with him

E. Smith

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #471 on: May 01, 2019, 06:34:36 PM »
A somewhat useless reminder, but anyway .... this is what modern civilisation has been built upon (bar a few infractions along the way)

Westphalian sovereignty, or state sovereignty, is the principle in international law that each state has exclusive sovereignty over its territory.

The principle underlies the modern international system of sovereign states and is enshrined in the United Nations Charter, which states that "nothing should authorise intervention in matters essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state."

 According to the idea, every state, no matter how large or small, has an equal right to sovereignty.

Political scientists have traced the concept to the Peace of Westphalia (1648), which ended the Thirty Years' War. The principle of non-interference was further developed in the 18th century.

The Westphalian system reached its peak in the 19th and 20th centuries, but it has faced recent challenges from advocates of humanitarian intervention. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westphalian_sovereignty

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #472 on: May 02, 2019, 06:18:57 AM »
What does the MIC look like on an individual basis? Maybe this would be a fair example of it:

Quote
In 1986, Pompeo graduated first in his class from the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he majored in engineering management.

From 1986 to 1991, Pompeo served in the U.S. Army as an Armor Branch Officer with the 2nd Squadron, 7th Cavalry in the 4th Infantry Division, reaching the rank of Captain. [ Not involved in Military Intelligence matters. ]

Business career
In 1998, Pompeo moved to Wichita, Kansas, where he and three other West Point friends, Brian Bulatao, Ulrich Brechbuhl, and Michael Stradinger acquired three aircraft-part manufacturers there (Aero Machine, Precision Profiling, B&B Machine) and in St. Louis (Advance Tool & Die), renaming the entity Thayer Aerospace after West Point superintendent Sylvanus Thayer.

Venture funding for the private organization included a 2% investment from Koch Industries [today the major US refiner of Venezuelan heavy crude based in Texas] as well as Dallas-based Cardinal Investment and Bain Capital (Brechbuhl worked for Bain at the time).

Brechbuhl and Stradinger left the company shortly after it was founded, but Pompeo and Bulatao continued until 2006.

In 2006, Pompeo sold his interest in Thayer to Highland Capital Management. The announcement said clients of the firm included "Lockheed Martin, Gulfstream Aerospace, Cessna Aircraft, Boeing, Spirit AeroSystems, Raytheon Aircraft and others".
 
https://www.bizjournals.com/wichita/stories/2006/04/24/daily7.html

It was renamed Nex-Tech Aerospace. Pompeo then became president of Sentry International, an oilfield equipment manufacturer that was also a partner of Koch Industries.

http://www.nccs.com/home/success/nex-tech.html


In the 2010 general election
, Pompeo defeated Democratic nominee Raj Goyle, a member of the Kansas House of Representatives. Pompeo received 59% of the vote (117,171 votes) to 36% for Goyle (71,866).

During the campaign, Pompeo sparked controversy when his campaign's Twitter account shared, then later deleted, a blog post calling his Indian-American opponent a "turban topper" and then-President Barack Obama an "evil Muslim communist". [ maybe only joking, with no offence intended? ]

During the campaign, Pompeo received $80,000 in donations from Koch Industries and its employees.

In 2017, when Pompeo became head of the CIA, he named Bulatao the agency's chief operating officer.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Pompeo#Education_and_early_career

It's only wiki, with a grain of salt, may not be uptodate.

Quote
Contents
1 Ties to the Koch Brothers

    1.1 Pompeo Served as Trustee of Koch Think Tank
    1.2 Kochs' Americans For Prosperity Backed Pompeo
    1.3 Koch Industries Is Pompeo's Top Campaign Contributor
    1.4 Pompeo's Staff Included Koch Insiders
    1.5 Pompeo Publicly Defended Koch Brothers in Press Release

2 Pompeo Defended CIA Use of Torture
3 Pompeo: Edward Snowden Should "Be Given a Death Sentence"
4 Pompeo Considers Terrorism a Threat to Christianity
5 Pompeo: "I Don't Agree With" Same Sex Marriage

https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Mike_Pompeo

Who benefits if a coup is successful? His best mates and mentors the Koch Brothers.

Quote
The Congressional Candidate Spawned By The ‘Kochtopus’
Lee Fang
Sep 21, 2010

Now, with an open seat in Koch Industries’ backyard, the massive “Kochtopus” network of Koch money and front groups is working to elect a new right-wing Republican to fill the seat: Mike Pompeo. Pompeo isn’t just another Wall Street-friendly, pro-polluter GOP radical (his initial response to the BP oil disaster was to say that he “fervently” hoped the government wouldn’t “overreact”), he is essentially a subsidiary of the Koch brothers’ business empire:

    — Pompeo developed much of his wealth from a firm he founded, Thayer Aerospace, which he ran with investment funds from Koch Industries. According to a December 11, 1998 article in the Wichita Business Journal, “[Pompeo’s] company’s capital base is drawn in part from Wichita’s Koch Venture Capital, a division of Koch Industries.” Pompeo sold Thayer in 2006.

    — Pompeo still relies on Koch for his private wealth. After the sale of Thayer, Pompeo became the President of Sentry International, a business specializing in the manufacture and sale of equipment used in oilfields. Sentry International is a partner to Koch Industries through its Brazilian distributor, GTF Representacoes & Consultoria.
https://thinkprogress.org/meet-mike-pompeo-the-congressional-candidate-spawned-by-the-kochtopus-2b5530a2e2ac/


Quote
Bloomburg Politics
Pompeo Weighing Kansas Senate Bid in 2020, Source Says
By Nick Wadhams 23 January 2019,

Pompeo, who represented the Wichita area in the House of Representatives for six years before becoming President Donald Trump’s CIA director in 2017, has made no secret about his ambitions for higher office in the past.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-22/pompeo-said-to-weigh-a-run-for-senate-seat-from-kansas-in-2020
A nice place to retire to - what chance he could eventually become head of the senate intelligence committee or similar?
« Last Edit: May 02, 2019, 06:35:02 AM by Lurk »

sidd

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #473 on: May 02, 2019, 06:29:00 AM »
I was just thinking that Guaido's days are numbered, and here is Ron Paul with the same thought. Guaido is now worth more to Empire dead than alive.

https://www.rt.com/news/458046-guaido-dead-ron-paul/

In the old, glory days of Empire, this would be about the time when a lone gunman takes Guaido out and western media blames the government. Alas, Empire isn't what it used to be.

sidd

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #474 on: May 02, 2019, 06:37:14 AM »
If it existed what might the 'MIC' look like on an individual basis? Maybe these refs provide a partial answer:

Quote
In 1986, Pompeo graduated first in his class from the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he majored in engineering management.

From 1986 to 1991, Pompeo served in the U.S. Army as an Armor Branch Officer with the 2nd Squadron, 7th Cavalry in the 4th Infantry Division, reaching the rank of Captain. [ Not involved in Military Intelligence matters. ]

1991 to 1998 Harvard Law School and Lawyer

Business career
In 1998, Pompeo moved to Wichita, Kansas, where he and three other West Point friends, Brian Bulatao, Ulrich Brechbuhl, and Michael Stradinger acquired three aircraft-part manufacturers there (Aero Machine, Precision Profiling, B&B Machine) and in St. Louis (Advance Tool & Die), renaming the entity Thayer Aerospace after West Point superintendent Sylvanus Thayer.

Venture funding for the private organization included a 2% investment from Koch Industries [today the major US refiner of Venezuelan heavy crude based in Texas]
as well as Dallas-based Cardinal Investment and Bain Capital (Brechbuhl worked for Bain at the time).

Brechbuhl and Stradinger left the company shortly after it was founded, but Pompeo and Bulatao continued until 2006.

In 2006, Pompeo sold his interest in Thayer to Highland Capital Management. The announcement said clients of the firm included "Lockheed Martin, Gulfstream Aerospace, Cessna Aircraft, Boeing, Spirit AeroSystems, Raytheon Aircraft and others".
https://www.bizjournals.com/wichita/stories/2006/04/24/daily7.html

It was renamed Nex-Tech Aerospace. Pompeo then became president of Sentry International, an oilfield equipment manufacturer that was also a partner of Koch Industries.
http://www.nccs.com/home/success/nex-tech.html


In the 2010 general election
, Pompeo defeated Democratic nominee Raj Goyle, a member of the Kansas House of Representatives. Pompeo received 59% of the vote (117,171 votes) to 36% for Goyle (71,866).

During the campaign, Pompeo sparked controversy when his campaign's Twitter account shared, then later deleted, a blog post calling his Indian-American opponent a "turban topper" and then-President Barack Obama an "evil Muslim communist". [ maybe only joking, with no offence intended? ]

During the campaign, Pompeo received $80,000 in donations from Koch Industries and its employees.

In 2017, when Pompeo became head of the CIA, he named Bulatao the agency's chief operating officer.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Pompeo#Education_and_early_career

It's only wiki, with a grain of salt, may not be uptodate.

Quote
Contents
1 Ties to the Koch Brothers

    1.1 Pompeo Served as Trustee of Koch Think Tank
    1.2 Kochs' Americans For Prosperity Backed Pompeo
    1.3 Koch Industries Is Pompeo's Top Campaign Contributor
    1.4 Pompeo's Staff Included Koch Insiders
    1.5 Pompeo Publicly Defended Koch Brothers in Press Release

2 Pompeo Defended CIA Use of Torture
3 Pompeo: Edward Snowden Should "Be Given a Death Sentence"
4 Pompeo Considers Terrorism a Threat to Christianity
5 Pompeo: "I Don't Agree With" Same Sex Marriage

Representative Pompeo's largest contributor in his each of his Congressional campaign's was Koch Industries and its employees, totaling $375,100 since 2010

https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Mike_Pompeo

Who benefits from a successful timely coup?

Quote
The Congressional Candidate Spawned By The ‘Kochtopus’
Lee Fang Sep 21, 2010

Now, with an open seat in Koch Industries’ backyard, the massive “Kochtopus” network of Koch money and front groups is working to elect a new right-wing Republican to fill the seat: Mike Pompeo. Pompeo isn’t just another Wall Street-friendly, pro-polluter GOP radical (his initial response to the BP oil disaster was to say that he “fervently” hoped the government wouldn’t “overreact”), he is essentially a subsidiary of the Koch brothers’ business empire:

    — Pompeo developed much of his wealth from a firm he founded, Thayer Aerospace, which he ran with investment funds from Koch Industries. According to a December 11, 1998 article in the Wichita Business Journal, “[Pompeo’s] company’s capital base is drawn in part from Wichita’s Koch Venture Capital, a division of Koch Industries.” Pompeo sold Thayer in 2006.

    — Pompeo still relies on Koch for his private wealth. After the sale of Thayer, Pompeo became the President of Sentry International, a business specializing in the manufacture and sale of equipment used in oilfields. Sentry International is a partner to Koch Industries through its Brazilian distributor, GTF Representacoes & Consultoria.
https://thinkprogress.org/meet-mike-pompeo-the-congressional-candidate-spawned-by-the-kochtopus-2b5530a2e2ac/


Quote
Bloomburg Politics
Pompeo Weighing Kansas Senate Bid in 2020, Source Says
By Nick Wadhams 23 January 2019,

Pompeo, who represented the Wichita area in the House of Representatives for six years before becoming President Donald Trump’s CIA director in 2017, has made no secret about his ambitions for higher office in the past.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-22/pompeo-said-to-weigh-a-run-for-senate-seat-from-kansas-in-2020
A nice place to retire to - what chance he could eventually become head of the senate intelligence committee or similar?
« Last Edit: May 02, 2019, 06:44:59 AM by Lurk »

ASILurker

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #475 on: May 02, 2019, 06:45:54 AM »
If it existed what might the 'MIC' look like on an individual basis? Maybe these refs provide a partial answer:

Quote
In 1986, Pompeo graduated first in his class from the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he majored in engineering management.

From 1986 to 1991, Pompeo served in the U.S. Army as an Armor Branch Officer with the 2nd Squadron, 7th Cavalry in the 4th Infantry Division, reaching the rank of Captain. [ Not involved in Military Intelligence matters. ]

1991 to 1998 Harvard Law School and Lawyer

Business career
In 1998, Pompeo moved to Wichita, Kansas, where he and three other West Point friends, Brian Bulatao, Ulrich Brechbuhl, and Michael Stradinger acquired three aircraft-part manufacturers there (Aero Machine, Precision Profiling, B&B Machine) and in St. Louis (Advance Tool & Die), renaming the entity Thayer Aerospace after West Point superintendent Sylvanus Thayer.

Venture funding for the private organization included a 2% investment from Koch Industries [today the major US refiner of Venezuelan heavy crude based in Texas]
as well as Dallas-based Cardinal Investment and Bain Capital (Brechbuhl worked for Bain at the time).

Brechbuhl and Stradinger left the company shortly after it was founded, but Pompeo and Bulatao continued until 2006.

In 2006, Pompeo sold his interest in Thayer to Highland Capital Management. The announcement said clients of the firm included "Lockheed Martin, Gulfstream Aerospace, Cessna Aircraft, Boeing, Spirit AeroSystems, Raytheon Aircraft and others".
https://www.bizjournals.com/wichita/stories/2006/04/24/daily7.html

It was renamed Nex-Tech Aerospace. Pompeo then became president of Sentry International, an oilfield equipment manufacturer that was also a partner of Koch Industries.
http://www.nccs.com/home/success/nex-tech.html


In the 2010 general election
, Pompeo defeated Democratic nominee Raj Goyle, a member of the Kansas House of Representatives. Pompeo received 59% of the vote (117,171 votes) to 36% for Goyle (71,866).

During the campaign, Pompeo sparked controversy when his campaign's Twitter account shared, then later deleted, a blog post calling his Indian-American opponent a "turban topper" and then-President Barack Obama an "evil Muslim communist". [ maybe only joking, with no offence intended? ]

During the campaign, Pompeo received $80,000 in donations from Koch Industries and its employees.

In 2017, when Pompeo became head of the CIA, he named Bulatao the agency's chief operating officer.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Pompeo#Education_and_early_career

It's only wiki, with a grain of salt, may not be uptodate.

Quote
Contents
1 Ties to the Koch Brothers

    1.1 Pompeo Served as Trustee of Koch Think Tank
    1.2 Kochs' Americans For Prosperity Backed Pompeo
    1.3 Koch Industries Is Pompeo's Top Campaign Contributor
    1.4 Pompeo's Staff Included Koch Insiders
    1.5 Pompeo Publicly Defended Koch Brothers in Press Release

2 Pompeo Defended CIA Use of Torture
3 Pompeo: Edward Snowden Should "Be Given a Death Sentence"
4 Pompeo Considers Terrorism a Threat to Christianity
5 Pompeo: "I Don't Agree With" Same Sex Marriage

Representative Pompeo's largest contributor in each of his Congressional campaign's was Koch Industries and its employees, totaling $375,100 since 2010

https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Mike_Pompeo

Who benefits from a successful timely coup?

Quote
The Congressional Candidate Spawned By The ‘Kochtopus’
Lee Fang Sep 21, 2010

Now, with an open seat in Koch Industries’ backyard, the massive “Kochtopus” network of Koch money and front groups is working to elect a new right-wing Republican to fill the seat: Mike Pompeo. Pompeo isn’t just another Wall Street-friendly, pro-polluter GOP radical (his initial response to the BP oil disaster was to say that he “fervently” hoped the government wouldn’t “overreact”), he is essentially a subsidiary of the Koch brothers’ business empire:

    — Pompeo developed much of his wealth from a firm he founded, Thayer Aerospace, which he ran with investment funds from Koch Industries. According to a December 11, 1998 article in the Wichita Business Journal, “[Pompeo’s] company’s capital base is drawn in part from Wichita’s Koch Venture Capital, a division of Koch Industries.” Pompeo sold Thayer in 2006.

    — Pompeo still relies on Koch for his private wealth. After the sale of Thayer, Pompeo became the President of Sentry International, a business specializing in the manufacture and sale of equipment used in oilfields. Sentry International is a partner to Koch Industries through its Brazilian distributor, GTF Representacoes & Consultoria.
https://thinkprogress.org/meet-mike-pompeo-the-congressional-candidate-spawned-by-the-kochtopus-2b5530a2e2ac/


Quote
Bloomburg Politics
Pompeo Weighing Kansas Senate Bid in 2020, Source Says
By Nick Wadhams 23 January 2019,

Pompeo, who represented the Wichita area in the House of Representatives for six years before becoming President Donald Trump’s CIA director in 2017, has made no secret about his ambitions for higher office in the past.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-22/pompeo-said-to-weigh-a-run-for-senate-seat-from-kansas-in-2020

A nice place to retire to - what chance he could eventually become head of the senate intelligence committee or similar?

ASILurker

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #476 on: May 02, 2019, 07:21:48 AM »
In another day and age these kinds of leading players (moving in and out of govt circles) all had titles like king, or prince, queen, princess, duke, lord, chancellor, count, compte, cardinal, archbishop, visage, viceroy, viscount, earl, emperor, pope, baron, general, admiral, and so on.

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #477 on: May 02, 2019, 09:06:03 AM »
Craig Murray explains in Venezuela and Binary Choice:

Quote
When a CIA-backed military coup is attempted by a long term CIA puppet, roared on by John Bolton and backed with the offer of Blackwater mercenaries, in the country with the world’s largest oil reserves, I have no difficulty whatsoever in knowing which side I am on.

Juan Guaido has been groomed for 15 years as a long-term CIA project. His coup attempt yesterday, which so far appears to have stalled, was the culmination of these efforts to return Venezuela’s oil reserves to US hegemony.

It is strange how the urgent installation of liberal democracy by force correlates so often with oil reserves not aligned to the USA, as in Libya, Iraq or Venezuela, while countries with massive oil reserves which permit US military domination and align with the West and Israel can be as undemocratic as they wish, eg Saudi Arabia. Venezuela is an imperfect democracy but it is far, far more of a democracy than Saudi Arabia and with a much better human rights record. The hypocrisy of Western media and politicians is breathtaking.

Hypocrisy and irony are soulmates, and there are multiple levels of irony in seeing the “liberal” commentators who were cheering on an undisguised military coup, then complaining loudly that people are being injured or killed now their side is losing. Yesterday the MSM had no difficulty in calling the attempted coup what anybody with eyes and ears could see it plainly was, an attempted military coup.

Today, miraculously, the MSM line is no coup attempt happened at all, it was just a spontaneous unarmed protest, and it is the evil government of Venezuela which attempts to portray it as a coup. BBC Breakfast this morning had the headline “President Maduro has accused the opposition of mounting a coup attempt”… Yet there is no doubt at all that, as a matter of plain fact, that is what happened.

The MSM today is full of video of water cannons against “protestors” and a horrible video of a military vehicle ramming a group. But it has all been very carefully edited to exclude hours of footage of the same military vehicles being pelted and set alight with molotov cocktails, and shot at. The presentation has been truly shocking.

In any civilised country, attempting to mount a military coup would lead to incarceration for life, and that is what should now happen to Juan Guaido. The attempt by the West to protect their puppet by pretending the failed military coup never happened, must be resisted, if only in the cause of intellectual honesty.

Jimmy Dore explains as well:

The enemy is within
Don't confuse me with him

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #478 on: May 02, 2019, 11:21:19 AM »

"Imagine if you called a coup and nobody turned up........"
KOYAANISQATSI

ko.yaa.nis.katsi (from the Hopi language), n. 1. crazy life. 2. life in turmoil. 3. life disintegrating. 4. life out of balance. 5. a state of life that calls for another way of living.
 
VIRESCIT VULNERE VIRTUS

ASILurker

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #479 on: May 03, 2019, 04:58:49 AM »
 President Maduro rallies the troops May 2, 2019 © Twitter
Addressing a crowd of some 4,000 troops of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) prior to the march, the president said the military made history in repelling the uprising.

“At this moment in Venezuela there is an Armed Force consistently loyal, cohesive and united as never before, defeating attempted coup plotters who sell themselves for Washington dollars,”




ASILurker

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #480 on: May 05, 2019, 02:21:47 AM »
4 May, 2019 Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro addressing the troops during military exercises of cadets of the Bolivarian Military University in the Cojedes state.

Venezuelan troops should “be ready to defend the country with weapons in hand if one day the North American empire dares to touch this land, this sacred ground,”
Maduro said, addressing thousands of young cadets at a training range in the state of Cojedes.

Since the outbreak of the crisis in January, Washington has outright backed Guaido’s claim to power. It introduced harsh economic sanctions and even threatened a so-called “humanitarian intervention” to remove the socialist government from power in oil-rich Venezuela.



(smile)

ASILurker

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #481 on: May 08, 2019, 09:08:58 AM »
Venezuela to prosecute turncoat lawmakers following failed coup – court
Published time: 8 May, 2019

 Venezuela will prosecute six lawmakers who backed opposition leader Juan Guaido’s failed coup last week, the Supreme Court has ruled, hinting that more prosecutions were in the works for “high treason” and “conspiracy.”

The Venezuelan Supreme Court has announced the prosecution of six lawmakers on charges including treason against the fatherland, conspiracy, insurrection, civil rebellion, usurpation of functions, and public instigation, the body said in a statement issued on Tuesday.

The document named Henry Ramos Allsup, a former National Assembly speaker, Luis Florida, Marianela Magallanes, Simon Calzadilla, Americo de Grazia, and Richard Blanco.

The Constituent Assembly subsequently stripped all six of their parliamentary immunity, plus Edgar Zambrano, who joined Guaido at the military base where he kicked off the botched uprising with a call for the military to abandon President Nicolas Maduro’s government last Tuesday.

Assembly speaker Diosdado Cabello added that three more lawmakers complicit in the coup had been identified and would also be prosecuted. The Assembly has promised to suspend the immunity of any other lawmakers found to be involved in the short-lived attempt to overthrow Maduro, which triggered two days of rioting and resulted in five deaths.

The criminal probe will be led by Attorney General Tarek William Saab. In addition to the prosecutions, Saab said, authorities have issued 18 arrest warrants against “civilians and military plotters” involved in the coup.

https://www.rt.com/news/458689-venezuela-prosecute-lawmakers-treason-coup/

ASILurker

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #482 on: May 08, 2019, 09:09:49 AM »
Inside the Venezuelan Embassy in DC


Neven

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #483 on: May 11, 2019, 08:55:05 PM »
Well, what do you know? Denying impacts of Venezuela sanctions is 'like Climate Denial':

https://therealnews.com/stories/denying-impact-of-venezuela-sanctions-is-like-climate-denial

Quote
GREG WILPERT It’s The Real News Network and I’m Greg Wilpert in Baltimore. An analysis of the effects of US sanctions on Venezuela has attracted some debate recently. The original analysis was co-written by Mark Weisbrot of the Center for Economic and Policy Research together with Jeffrey Sachs of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University. It was titled, Economic Sanctions as Collective Punishment: The Case of Venezuela. One of its central arguments was that as many as 40,000 people may have died as a result of the US sanctions on Venezuela since August 2017.

(...)

GREG WILPERT I think that’s a very important point, what you’ve made here and other programs, that the Trump administration introduced these sanctions just at a moment when the economy of Venezuela was very vulnerable and, like you said, it probably extended the economic crisis, but—

MARK WEISBROT And they’re trying to destroy it. I mean, that’s what they’re doing. They’re trying to destroy the economy and that’s what sanctions do.

(...)

MARK WEISBROT They just don’t have any argument that anybody really—I think it’s, you know, I would call it sanctions denial, like climate deniers. It’s something that’s obvious, and it’s kind of similar in some ways. You’ve had these decades where everybody knew, all the scientists knew what was happening, and the media treated it as though it were some kind of debate. The media is actually not treating it as a debate now. They’re just trying to ignore it, and this is a problem because the media—Most of the journalists know that this is what’s going on because it’s so obvious and yet, they’ve barely reported it over the past couple of years. And so, it’s hard for them to change their reporting.

(...)

You only have Hausmann, people who are ideologically committed to overthrowing the government of Venezuela. They’re the only people that would actually deny that the sanctions don’t have any impact. But you know, you see these reported— I mean, journalists like Nick Kristof. Here’s somebody who goes to all these places in the world where people are suffering and there’s humanitarian disasters, trafficking of women and children, and this is what he writes about. And so, he goes to the border of Venezuela, and he talks a 15-year-old girl who’s pregnant and destitute, and all these people, and shows how terrible they’re suffering, refugees from Venezuela. And then, what is his solution? He says, you’ve got to pressure Mexico to go along with the sanctions that are actually causing these people to be in this situation. This makes no sense at all. I just wish people would challenge him. You know, if anybody’s listening to this, they could write to him and say well, why are you doing this? Don’t you care about these people that you pretend, you profess to care about? You’re actually supporting something that’s making it vastly worse and actually taking people’s lives.
The enemy is within
Don't confuse me with him

E. Smith

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #484 on: May 11, 2019, 10:12:58 PM »
Kristof exemplifies Chomsky's point on the limits of debate in western media. He supports the his government in creating hellscape, and he flies out to the fringes of hell to commiserate with victims. But never does he ask or assign or accept responsibility for creating that hell.

If that guy were drowning, i might throw him a rope. Both ends of it.

sidd

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #485 on: May 12, 2019, 05:30:57 AM »
    When invited by @jguaido & the legitimate gov't of #Venezuela, I look forward to discussing how we can support the future role of those @ArmadaFANB leaders who make the right decision, put the Venezuela people first & restore constitutional order. We stand ready! #EstamosUnidosVE pic.twitter.com/F6ib7mfO47
    — U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) May 9, 2019

So even the US Military have gone bat shit crazy now too and feel free to play politics and diplomacy as if the Admiral represents the US Govt itself and the American people.

Truly the nation has lost it's mind with shit like this being accepted as ok normal and the way things should be.

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #486 on: May 15, 2019, 11:24:01 PM »
Neoliberal puppet continues to call for violence in Venezuela to circumvent that pesky democracy:



Here are some of the people in Venezuela (sorry, not white or rich, hard to identify with for most of us):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=12&v=f-fk1N7LnRY

The enemy is within
Don't confuse me with him

E. Smith

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #487 on: May 15, 2019, 11:33:37 PM »
From some days ago:

The enemy is within
Don't confuse me with him

E. Smith

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #488 on: May 16, 2019, 10:13:48 AM »
 Washington has suspended all US-based cargo and passenger air services between the US and Venezuela, citing “safety and security” conditions in the Latin American country amid attempts to oust the government in Caracas.

The move was announced by the US Department of Transportation on Wednesday. The decision was made with “the approval of the Secretary of State” and in cooperation with the Homeland Security Department, the DOT said in a statement.

From now on, all flights to and from Venezuela operated by both US air carriers and foreign companies are suspended due to conditions around the country's airports “that threaten the safety or security of passengers, aircraft, or crew.”

https://www.rt.com/news/459444-us-suspends-venezuela-flights/

But how will Guadio and his family escape to the US when shit hits fan? 

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #489 on: May 17, 2019, 02:11:20 AM »
All your embassies are belong to us.

"The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela does not authorize the entrance of any US law enforcement officers into our former Embassy building in Washington. Any such entrance is an unlawful breach of the Vienna Convention."

https://www.rt.com/news/459511-police-raid-venezuelan-embassy-dc/

Treaties ? how quaint !

sidd

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #490 on: May 17, 2019, 11:00:28 AM »
It's never-ending "bullshit" .. as a recent College Course says it is. :D

 ‘We fight too many wars!’ Rev. Jackson denounces US militarism after Venezuela embassy raid
Published time: 17 May, 2019

 Renowned American civil rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson has spoken out against US militaristic foreign policy after delivering food supplies to peace activists at the Venezuelan embassy in DC before their forceful eviction.

The arrest of four remaining activists from the so-called Venezuelan Embassy Protection Collective on Thursday by police will not change people’s resolve to protest against an American foreign policy which simply disregards the laws and sovereignty of other nations, Jackson told RT after visiting the embassy site on Wednesday.

“We are going to have a major demonstration in front of the embassy on this coming Sunday,” he said. “It will be focused not only on Venezuela but also on Yemen and North Korea and on South and Latin America.”

https://www.rt.com/usa/459543-venezuela-embassy-jesse-jackson/

b_lumenkraft

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #491 on: May 21, 2019, 09:07:15 AM »
Bernie Shames Incompetent Reporter On 'Anti American' Questions


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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #492 on: June 10, 2019, 06:18:49 PM »
The enemy is within
Don't confuse me with him

E. Smith

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #493 on: June 18, 2019, 10:04:45 AM »
O dear. The putative new bosses are money grubbing, venal and avaricious. Color me unsurprised.

"exposed members of Venezuelan coup leader Juan Guaidó’s inner circle for embezzling tens of thousands of dollars designated for humanitarian aid and spending it on luxury goods and lavish accommodations for themselves"

"cash that was used to entice desperate soldiers and would-be mercenaries to defect became a slush fund for the US-backed coup leader and his gaggle, who spent it lavishly on hotels, expensive dinners, nightclubs and designer clothes"

"Guaidó’s representatives blew more than $125,000 on luxury goods and personal expenses"

" the benefits the soldiers had been promised failed to materialize. By mid-March, funds for the deserters had completely dried up. The UNHCR attempted to expel a group of soldiers from one shelter, giving each a stipend of 350,000 Colombian pesos ($106) a mat, and a sheet to sleep on."

"130 children of the deserters were so poorly fed that twenty percent were assessed to be suffering from malnutrition."

"some defectors joined paramilitaries and drug trafficking operations"

https://thegrayzone.com/2019/06/17/from-coup-leaders-to-con-artistry-juan-guaidos-gang-exposed-for-massive-humanitarian-aid-fraud/

sidd

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #494 on: June 20, 2019, 10:13:58 PM »
More on that in this video:



The government may be corrupt, but to replace it with another corrupt government, doesn't sound like a smart thing to do. Especially if that other corrupt government consists of neoliberal stooges with fascist tendencies. It's not working too great in Brazil, for instance.

BTW, I read this week that there have been massive black-outs in Argentina and Uruguay. Isn't it time for a coup there as well?
The enemy is within
Don't confuse me with him

E. Smith

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Re: The Empire vs Venezuela - News and History
« Reply #495 on: June 22, 2019, 09:25:35 PM »
What a wonderful thread to be greeted with as I slowly awaken from a long period of hibernation!


Anyone reading the full 10 pages will be rewarded with an in-depth analysis of the Evil Empire's rather ineffective attempt to enhance the Koch Brother's riches at the expense of the Bolivian Revolution's peons.


I was in Havana when the Oil for Doctors deal was struck between Cuba and Venezuela. Cuba received much needed fuel at 0% interest for however long the payback period lasted, and Venezuela's poor had access to medical services - many for the first time in their lives. The Cubans were ecstatic, and the now healthy poor in Venezuela aren't likely to vote against the party that brought doctors to their villages.


Canada's part in the attempted ouster of Maduro has cost the Liberal Party my support in the coming election.


If Bolton contracts facial alopecia my happiness will be complete. ;)
Terry