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“The West exported so much democracy to the Middle East, it ran out of it.”

-- Fuad Alakbarov

News and Opinion

How Washington’s Devastating “Economic Blockade” of Venezuela Helped Pave the Way for Coup Attempt

An excellent piece about the U.S.-backed coup proceeding in Venezuela. Here's a taste:

Venezuela - The U.S. Game Plan And How To Respond To It

Yesterday the U.S. recognized a right-wing 'leader of the opposition' in Venezuela Juan Guaido as the president of the country. A number of right-wing led countries in South America joined in that move. Cuba, Bolivia and Mexico rejected it. Russia, China, Iran and Turkey continue to support the the government of the elected President Nicolas Maduro and spoke out against the coup attempt. The European Union has no united opinion with the neo-liberal led France being pro-coup and Spain standing against it. ... This long planned U.S. move against the legitimate government of Venezuela is just the start. It is designed to lead to escalation and very soon mission creep - 'We can't stop here!' - will set in. More than 300 billion barrels of oil, the biggest oil reserves in the world, are at stake. U.S: stooge Guaido promises to change Venezuela's oil law to the advantage of the U.S., while the Bolivarian government uses the oil to support the poor.

The game plan for the current U.S. regime-change operation against the government of Venezuela was written by Senator Marco Rubio with the support of Vice President Pence:

The American recognition of Mr. Guaidó as Venezuela’s legitimate president is far more than a symbolic measure, and presents new complications for Mr. Maduro.

The idea was avidly promoted by Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican who pushed the Trump administration to take such a step. In a speech to the Senate on Jan. 15, Mr. Rubio said that designating Mr. Guaidó as president would allow millions of dollars of Venezuelan government assets frozen in the United States to be at the disposal of opposition lawmakers, who could use them to fund new elections or humanitarian assistance.

The real amount the U.S. and Britain have 'frozen', or practically stolen, from Venezuela amount to several billion dollars, not just a few millions. ... The opposition in Venezuela will probably use access to that 'frozen' money to buy weapons and to create an army of mercenaries to fight a 'civil' war against the government and its followers. Like in Syria U.S. special forces or some CIA 'contractors' will be eager to help. ... Before starting a larger war the opposition will try to create unbearable chaos on the streets. Like during the failed violent demonstrations in 2016 the opposition rioters will be armed. Police will be attacked and people on both sides will die.

The U.S. seems prepared to see the coup through unless it has negative consequences for its own position. Domestically the illegal regime change attempt has support even from supposedly 'socialist' Democrats. The U.S. propaganda apparatus, the mainstream media and various propaganda 'bot' campaigns are fully engaged. The supposedly private social media companies in the U.S. - Facebook, Instagram and Twitter - have already de-recognized the official Maduro accounts. They no longer have a 'verified' tick mark. Voice of America shows (vid) Guaido declaring himself president among a crowd of a few hundred supporters. It then (1:05min) cuts to a much larger crowd at a different location falsely suggesting that he has a large following.There are trucks with anti-Maduro advertisements driving in U.S. cities and various propaganda accounts post false pictures or make otherwise false claims.

Here are some poll results from Venezuelans in Venezuela done by opposition-aligned pollster. Corp. Media won't tell you but the guy Emperor Trump named president of Venezuela heads an assembly that has 25% approval. pic.twitter.com/uZlMqQDmpN

— Joe Emersberger (@rosendo_joe) January 24, 2019

Venezuelan Foreign Minister: The U.S. Interferes in Latin American Politics Every Day, Every Hour

Venezuela: Juan Guaidó urges fresh protests and bids for Russia and China backing

The leader of Venezuela’s newly energized opposition, Juan Guaidó, has summoned fresh street protests and reached out to China and Russia as he intensified his campaign to force Nicolás Maduro and his “arrogant” dictatorship from power. In his first public appearance since declaring himself Venezuela’s interim president on Wednesday, the 35-year-old politician urged citizens to take to the streets and step up their battle against the man he dubbed “El Usurpador” (The Usurper).

A new round of demonstrations would be held next week, with the exact date and locations to be announced on Sunday, Guaidó said on Friday. ...

During a 30-minute address to a sea of supporters who had gathered in a square in eastern Caracas, Guaidó renewed his calls for the military to abandon Maduro. ...

At a press conference in the presidential palace, Maduro accused the US of seeking to remove him from office with a coup and ordered his armed forces to prepare to “defeat any imperialist enemy who dares to touch our soil”.

“Nobody wants [war]. But we will not surrender or betray our country if there is an armed conflict, be it localized, low-level, mid-level, high-intensity, generalized, in one region or a city,” said Maduro, promising to resist what he called efforts to transform Venezuela into a second Libya. ...

During his address, Guaidó also boasted of the widespread international backing he had received, reading a long list of governments which had recognized him included those of the United States, Brazil and Colombia. “A round of applause for the EU!” Guaidó shouted, although the bloc has yet to explicitly back him as interim president. Guaidó claimed “the entire planet” was backing his movement to end Maduro’s “dictatorship”. But there are two crucial exceptions: Russia and China, which both have massive military and economic interests in Venezuela, and have both thrown their weight behind Maduro.

On Friday Guaidó said both countries would be welcome in the new post-Maduro Venezuela he was trying to build.

Antiwar Hero Medea Benjamin Disrupts Venezuela Coup Circle Jerk

Before they launch missiles, they launch narratives. Before they drop bombs, they drop talking points. Before they implement crushing starvation sanctions, they demonize and condemn. Before they invade, they propagandize. Before the killing starts, manipulation paves the way. For this reason, the front line of any antiwar movement is a fight against the establishment narratives about disobedient nations that are aggressively promulgated by the political/media class. And right now one of the very most adept Americans at doing that is an activist named Medea Benjamin.

Benjamin once again displayed her knack for getting her message seen in high-profile spaces in a way that grabs attention and punches through cleanly and concisely as she crashed the warmongering bloviations of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at a meeting of the Organization for American States (OAS) in Washington, DC. Following a speech in which Pompeo regurgitated already established Trump talking points referring to Venezuela’s president Nicolas Maduro as the “former president”, accusing him of being “economically incompetent”, “profoundly corrupt” and “undemocratic to the core,” Benjamin cut off his applause by standing at the end of the council room with a sign reading “OAS: DON’T SUPPORT A COUP IN VENEZUELA” and decrying the Trump administration’s attempts to topple the Venezuelan government.

“Don’t support the coup!” Benjamin shouted. “A coup is not a democratic transition! Do not listen to Secretary Pompeo! Do not support the coup! Do no support the coup in Venezuela!”

And of course Medea Benjamin is correct. This US-led coup is not different from all the other US-led coups in South America and in oil-rich nations around the world; it is designed to be profitable for the already wealthy and strategically advantageous for the already powerful, with none of the interest in humanitarianism and democracy that it always pretends to have. ...

“And so the confrontation begins, as I anticipated just hours ago,” tweeted Venezuelan-American attorney and journalist Eva Golinger when this news broke. “Maduro expels US diplomats, they refuse to leave. If he tries to force them out, US will respond, with ‘all options on the table’ (military intervention). This is a total reality show, invent a reason to invade.” ... So this is a full-fledged coup attempt, being pushed along by starvation sanctions, CIA covert ops, and copious amounts of propaganda, and it has become a tinder box that could erupt into a US-funded “civil” war or direct US military involvement at the drop of a hat. The mass media is as usual moving almost exclusively in the direction of unquestioning support for this trajectory. The time to protest is not when the bombs start falling, but when the war propaganda gets rolled out, as is happening right now.

Historian: Venezuela Is “Staging Ground” for U.S. to Reassert Control Over Latin America

Open Letter by Over 70 Scholars and Experts Condemns US-Backed Coup Attempt in Venezuela

As many American lawmakers, pundits, and advocacy groups remain conspicuously silent in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to formally recognize Venezuela's opposition leader as the "interim president"—a move that was denounced as open support for an attempted coup d'état—renowned linguist Noam Chomsky, filmmaker Boots Riley, and over 70 other academics and experts issued an open letter on Thursday calling on the Trump administration to "cease interfering in Venezuela's internal politics."

"Actions by the Trump administration and its allies in the hemisphere are almost certain to make the situation in Venezuela worse, leading to unnecessary human suffering, violence, and instability," the letter reads. "The U.S. and its allies must cease encouraging violence by pushing for violent, extralegal regime change. If the Trump administration and its allies continue to pursue their reckless course in Venezuela, the most likely result will be bloodshed, chaos, and instability."

Highlighting the harm American sanctions have inflicted upon the Venezuelan economy and people, the letter goes on to denounce the White House's "aggressive" actions and rhetoric against Venezuela's government, arguing that peaceful talks are the only way forward.

[Full letter at link. - js]

‘What’s happening in Venezuela is unbelievable, open attempt for coup’ – ex-Ecuadorian president

Quite a story, it's worth checking out the video:

The Dramatic Scandal Swallowing the Bolsonaro Presidency Just Drove an LGBT Congressman to Flee Brazil

A dramatic, multi-level, and increasingly dark scandal has been engulfing the Brazilian presidency of Jair Bolsonaro for the last month. It began just weeks after his stunning November victory but before he was inaugurated on January 1, and has completely paralyzed his presidency ever since. ... The scandal most centrally involves Bolsonaro’s eldest son, Flávio, who has long been a state deputy from Rio de Janeiro, but was just elected to the Federal Senate with a massive vote total in the last election. The scandal began with the discovery of highly suspicious payments into and out of the account of Flávio’s driver, a former police officer and long-time friend of the president’s.

Each new discovery has escalated the scandal’s seriousness: One unexplained deposit was found going into the account of Jair Bolsonaro’s wife, Michelle; both the driver and Flávio himself began using highly suspicious maneuvers to try to stymie the investigation; the amounts of the suspicious transfers began rapidly increasing to US$2 million; and then deposits were found going into Flávio’s accounts in small increments of multiple deposits in rapid succession: at times up to 10 cash deposits made within three minutes, the hallmark of money laundering and evading banking regulations.

But two recent events have converted what looked to be a classic scandal of money laundering and kickbacks into something much more ominous and terrifying. Earlier this week, Rio de Janeiro police arrested five members of Brazil’s most dangerous militia, one linked to the 2018 assassination of City Council Member Marielle Franco of the left-wing PSOL party. As it turned out, Flávio Bolsonaro formally praised two of the leading members of that militia; gave an award to the militia’s chief; and, most astonishingly of all, kept the mother and the daughter of the militia chief on his payroll for the last 10 years. That the Bolsonaro family has been discovered to have such close and intimate ties with militias, including the one involved in Franco’s brutal assassination, stunned the country.

Brazil's sole openly gay congressman leaves country after death threats

Brazil’s first and only openly gay congressman has announced that he is leaving his job – and the country – after receiving death threats. In a newspaper interview on Thursday, Jean Wyllys said he was currently outside of Brazil and had no plans to return after a growing number of threats over the past year.

Wyllys, who was re-elected in October and had been set to begin a third term in February, was a close friend of Marielle Franco, the gay Rio councilwoman who was shot and killed along with her driver in March. His departure is likely to add to fears among Brazil’s LGBT community that homophobia is set to rise even further under the government of president Jair Bolsonaro, who has won notoriety for his overt homophobia.

In the interview, Wyllys said his decision to leave wasn’t because of Bolsonaro’s rise, but rather the climate of heated rhetoric and intensifying violence toward members of the LGBT community in the wake of last year’s heated election campaign. Bolsonaro made no explicit comment on Wyllys’s announcement, but soon after posted a thumbs-up emoji on his twitter feed. Bolsonaro’s son Carlos – also a Rio city councilman – greeted the news with a tweet saying: “Go with God and be happy.”

How a California officer protected neo-Nazis and targeted their victims

The testimony of a California police officer leading the inquiry into a series of stabbings at a neo-Nazi rally indicated that he targeted leftwing activists and victims rather than focusing his investigation on armed white supremacists. The officer, Donovan Ayres, 12-year-veteran of the California highway patrol, admitted he pursued information on the political affiliations and online activity of leftwing activists and victims. He testified Tuesday as a key witness in the state’s ongoing case against three anti-fascist activists charged with assault and “rioting” during a brawl between neo-Nazis and counter-protesters at the state Capitol in June 2016.

Ayres was tasked with investigating the violence that erupted at the event, including the stabbing and beating of at least eight anti-fascist protesters. But his testimony in a packed courtroom earlier this week, along with hundreds of pages of reports he wrote, have revealed the officer’s acquiescence to the neo-Nazis and the way he repeatedly advocated they not face any criminal consequences.

Ayres told the court that he filed a search warrant to access the Facebook accounts of the leftist protesters and anti-fascists, but chose not to seek equivalent information about neo-Nazi suspects – an extraordinary move for a law enforcement leader investigating far-right violence. He also resisted describing the political affiliations of individual men on the neo-Nazi side.

Nazi blueprint for North American Holocaust acquired by Canada archive

A book once owned by Adolf Hitler, which scholars suspect was a blueprint for a Holocaust in North America, has been acquired by Canada’s national archive. The rare book, of which only a handful of copies remain, was bought online by government librarians last year and unveiled for the first time in Ottawa on Wednesday. The acquisition, which curators say will preserve a critical piece of history, comes at a time of growing antisemitism and Holocaust denial in Canada.

Published in 1944 by the German researcher and linguist Heinz Kloss, Statistics, Media, and Organizations of Jewry in the United States and Canada is a disturbingly thorough catalogue of Jewish residents in the two countries and reflects Nazi plans in the event they gained control over the continent. “[The book] demonstrates that the Holocaust wasn’t a European event – it was an event that didn’t have the opportunity to spread out of Europe,” Michael Kent, a curator at Library and Archives Canada, told the Guardian. “It reminds us that conflicts and human tragedies that seemed far away could find their way to North America.” ...

Kloss, who frequently worked for the Third Reich, used 1930s data, drawn from his extensive contact network of Nazi sympathizers, to sort Jewish residents in Canada by language and ethnic origins. “I think that’s part of the horrors of world war two and the Holocaust – recognizing how much intellectual effort went into work of the perpetrators,” said Kent. ...

The book highlights Nazi plans for an eventual presence in North America. They made larger strides than is often realized: in 1943, the year before Kloss’s book was published, the Germans established an automated weather station in what is now the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. There are also numerous wartime stories in eastern Canada of German U-boats making headway up the St Lawrence river.

The U.S. is sending new asylum seekers back to Mexico starting today, reports say

Starting Friday, asylum seekers approaching the Tijuana-San Diego port of entry will be returned to Mexico to wait out their court cases, in the Trump administration’s biggest change yet to U.S. immigration policy. And they could be waiting several months, if not years.

The Department of Homeland Security is planning to implement the dramatic change on its policies for handling asylum seekers at the San Ysidro port of entry, the busiest border crossing into the U.S., anonymous DHS officials told both NBC News and the Washington Post on Thursday. Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen announced the controversial policy to the House Judiciary Committee last month, decrying the current system through which asylum seekers can wait out court cases on U.S. soil if they display “credible fear” in returning to their home countries.

“The process takes many years; in the meantime, the illegal alien is in the interior,” Nielsen told the committee in December, adding that undocumented immigrants fail to show up for court cases that can occur long after they’ve entered the country.

As of Friday, asylum seekers approaching San Ysidro will be processed by federal immigration officials and forced back to Tijuana until their court date in San Diego. When that day comes, according to NBC News, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will provide transportation from San Ysidro to the immigration court.

Trump finally reopens the government — but only for 3 weeks

President Donald Trump and has finally reached a compromise to — at least temporarily — end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

Speaking from the Rose Garden on Friday, Trump said the federal government will reopen for three weeks to allow Democrats and Republicans more time to negotiate on allocating the $5.7 billion he demanded for a border wall.

White House preparing draft national emergency order, has identified $7 billion for wall

The White House is preparing a draft proclamation for President Donald Trump to declare a national emergency along the southern border and has identified more than $7 billion in potential funds for his signature border wall should he go that route, according to internal documents reviewed by CNN.

Trump has not ruled out using his authority to declare a national emergency and direct the Defense Department to construct a border wall as Congress and the White House fight over a deal to end the government shutdown. But while Trump's advisers remain divided on the issue, the White House has been moving forward with alternative plans that would bypass Congress.

"The massive amount of aliens who unlawfully enter the United States each day is a direct threat to the safety and security of our nation and constitutes a national emergency," a draft of a presidential proclamation reads. "Now, therefore, I, Donald J. Trump, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C 1601, et seq.), hereby declare that a national emergency exists at the southern border of the United States," the draft adds. The draft was updated as recently as last week, a US government official told CNN. ...

The draft document cites Title 10 of the US Code, which allows Trump to unlock a stash of Pentagon funds that are earmarked but have no signed contracts for spending that money. That would give the President authority to pull from military construction funds and civil works projects, like infrastructure repair projects.

Wilbur Ross thinks desperate federal workers should just get a bank loan

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who’s worth about $700 million by Forbes’ estimate, has a suggestion for furloughed federal workers who can’t afford housing or food: Get a loan.

Appearing on CNBC on Thursday, Ross expressed perplexity at the fact that federal workers who are either furloughed or being forced to work are seeking help from homeless shelters and food banks — after more than a month without a paycheck, thanks to the record-long government shutdown. “Well, I know they are, and I don't understand why,” Ross said.

Ross, who — again — is a multi-millionaire investor (though he has tried to pass himself off as a billionaire), said this problem could be easily solved by getting a loan from a bank. He also said that workers calling in sick needed to just suck it up, because they will eventually get paid. “Banks and credit unions should be making credit available to them,” Ross said. “Now, true, the people might have to pay a little bit of interest, but the idea that it's paycheck or zero is not a really valid idea.”

Net Neutrality Repeal, Evidence Shows, Is Doing None of the Good Stuff Ajit Pai and Telecom Industry Promised

The telecom industry and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai justified the Republican repeal of net neutrality protections in December of 2017 with promises that a "light-touch framework" would spur investment, giving broadband providers "stronger incentives to build networks, especially in unserved areas, and to upgrade networks."

However, according to recent reports, in the year after the repeal—which officially took effect last June—cable companies' investments actually fell, just as net neutrality supporters had warned they would.

Those fighting the rollback pointed to the declines in spending as just one piece of evidence that the deregulation push by Pai—a former Verizon lawyer appointed by President Donald Trump—was always designed to benefit industry at the public's expense.

Elizabeth Warren Proposes Annual Wealth Tax on Ultra-Millionaires

Sen. Elizabeth Warren's presidential campaign has rolled out a proposal for an annual tax on wealth, becoming the first major Democratic candidate to follow a recommendation outlined in Thomas Piketty’s blockbuster book “Capital in the Twenty-First Century.” The proposal, according to two University of California, Berkeley, economists who are leading experts on wealth and inequality, would shrink the wealth of the superrich by $2.75 trillion over a 10-year period, while only affecting around 75,000 U.S. households.

A paper distributed by Warren’s campaign announcing the proposal notes that the United States contains “an extreme concentration of wealth not seen in any other leading economy.” As UC Berkeley’s Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman have demonstrated, the top 0.1 percent has had their wealth share nearly triple between the late 1970s and 2016.

Warren actually endorsed the concept of a wealth tax five years ago, in an interview with Piketty and The Intercept’s Ryan Grim. Asked how a bill to tax wealth would sound after Piketty described it, Warren said, “Oh, I’m in, I’m in, I’m in — in on the notion that we have to rewrite our tax code.” She added that the tax code “has to reflect the importance of work and people who achieve and people who accomplish, over being born into wealth.” Piketty endorsed the Warren plan on Thursday. “In many ways, the US led the world toward the development of progressive taxation and the reduction of inequality at the global level during the first half of the 20th century,” he wrote in a statement. “I am confident that Senator Warren’s proposed progressive wealth tax will not only help curb inequality and ultimately promote growth in the US, but also have a major impact all around the world.” ...

The Ultra-Millionaire Tax, as Warren’s campaign describes it, would impose a 2 percent annual tax on household net worth on all dollars above $50 million. An additional 1 percent surtax would kick in above $1 billion in income. Wealth is defined in the plan as “all household assets … including residences, closely held businesses, assets held in trust, retirement assets, assets held by minor children, and personal property with a value of $50,000 or more.” These are marginal tax rates, which conservatives have busily tried to misconstrue during the debate over Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s proposed 70 percent income tax rate above $10 million. Households with exactly $50 million in wealth would pay zero dollars in wealth taxes; the first dollar above that would trigger a tax of 2 cents.

Bernie Sanders vs Kamala the Jailer and Her Corporate Backers

Early this century, the oligarchy of filthy-rich white men that rule the United States reached a consensus among themselves on the necessity of maintaining a regime of endless war and austerity. In truth, there was no other policy choice available to the Lords of Capital. The financial oligarchy’s success in consolidating virtually all political and economic power in an ever-shrinking cabal of the super-wealthy has all but eliminated the last refuges and hideaways of democracy in the U.S., while condemning most of the population to eternal insecurity amidst falling living standards. Late stage western capitalism has nothing to offer its own citizens but austerity, and no way to compete with the dynamic societies of Asia except through war. Yet, the rulers must maintain the charade of domestic social progress and mass upward mobility, although no such possibilities exist under this system.

It is a ruling class political dilemma made far more complex by the disruption wreaked on the two-capitalist party system by Donald Trump, the orange-tinted huckster and mega-opportunist. Trump captured the Republican Party apparatus by throwing red racist meat to the hordes of white supremacists that are still the most decisive force in the U.S. electorate. The polite White Man’s Party of Nixon, Reagan and the Bushes was suddenly stripped to the waist and showing its Aryan tattoos. The provocateur in the White House shattered the façade of racial harmony that had been carefully cultivated over decades by corporate media, while at the same time calling into question the corporate consensus on so-called “free trade,” “humanitarian” military intervention (regime change) and increasing hostility to capitalist Russia. ...

The legitimacy of the corporate regime was simultaneously challenged from leftish quarters, by Bernie Sanders, whose 2016 primary campaign failed to stop the warmongering corporatist Hillary Clinton, but succeeded in proving that super-majorities of Americans (including Republicans) want Medicare for All. Sanders’ proposals on health care, livable wages and free college education awakened expectations and thirst for a better life among masses of Americans. Sanders’ proposals are not transformative, revolutionary or “socialist.” However, the mere raising of expectations among the masses of people is dangerously destabilizing in a society where the corporate rulers have decreed endless austerity and war. The oligarchy cannot tolerate or accommodate a New Deal, Green or otherwise. Their model of development is embodied in Jeff Bezos’ demand that New York City fork over billions for the pleasure of his corporate presence. ...

The corporate media -- the same folks that buttressed Trump’s campaign with billions in free air time, in expectation that Hillary would knock him flat like a straw man on Election Day – are busy constructing a whole roster of corporate alternatives to Sanders, hoping to head off the kind of popular movement-style politics that Bernie thrived on in 2016. Kamala Harris is by far the most dangerous corporate threat to a revival of the Sandernistas, for obvious reasons of race and gender. However, as a career prosecutor, Harris is a lifelong operative in the mass incarceration machine. She is so wedded to the beast, she opposed compliance with a court order to dramatically reduce California prison overcrowding, because it would shrink the number of inmates available for work in the prison system. ... Most importantly, the rulers need to give people something to feel good about -- the illusion that progress is being made, despite their own frozen or worsening economic realities. The trick is to promote racial and gender “firsts” and market them as socially transformative, in the midst of actual social and economic decay. Kamala Harris fits the bill, perfectly – which is why she is the most dangerous to a Sanders project, and why Sanders should jump into the race right away, before the corporate media declare a “front-runner” and otherwise make him appear irrelevant.

Although Bernie Sanders is probably the most popular politician in the nation, with the most favored political program, the billionaires that control the Democratic Party will move heaven and earth to prevent him from getting the nomination -- as was done in 2016. The best scenario for the Left is for Sanders to do so well in the primaries that corporate party leadership is forced to resort to dirty tricks and transparently undemocratic means to steal the nomination from him in the clear light of day. At that point, progressives would have yet another chance to escape their subordination, humiliation and ultimate irrelevance in a corporate-owned party, and to create or join a social democratic formation.

Florida’s secretary of state resigns after photos surface of him in blackface as a “Katrina victim”

Florida’s new secretary of state resigned after photos surfaced of him dressed in blackface in an effort to portray a Hurricane Katrina victim just months after the massive storm wrecked New Orleans.

Michael Ertel, appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Dec. 28, was at a private Halloween party 14 years ago when he donned the offensive costume, according to the Tallahassee Democrat, which obtained and published the photos on Thursday.

In the images, Ertel wore blackface, a purple shirt that read “Katrina Victim” in black letters, a New Orleans Saints bandana, and false breasts. At the time, he was the Seminole County supervisor of elections.

Hours after the Democrat published the photos, DeSantis announced Ertel had resigned.

Greta Thunberg | Special Address, Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum 2019

Right "To Their Faces," 16-Year-Old Greta Thunberg Tells Davos Elite Climate Crisis Their Fault

Sixteen-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg just told a group of the elite gathered in Davos for the World Economic Forum—as they were seated just feet away from her—that they are among those directly responsible for the climate crisis. Speaking Thursday before a panel that included U2 frontman Bono, former United Nations climate chief Christiana Figueres, acclaimed conservationist Jane Goodall, and panel host and billionaire Marc Benioff, Thunberg echoed themes from a video she created to share with Davos-goers.

"Some people say that that the climate crisis is something that we all have created. But that is not true—because if everyone is guilty, then no one is to blame. And someone is to blame," Thunberg said to the peope in the room. "Some people, some companies, some decision-makers in particular have known exactly what priceless values they have been sacrificing to make unimaginable amounts of money, and I think many of you here today belong to that group of people."

Her statement was followed silence until Bono began applauding. Other audience members and panelists then followed suit.

It takes deep courage to go to Davos and tell the masters-of-the-universe *to their faces* that they knowingly torched the planet in order get filthy rich. @GretaThunberg did that. She's 15. https://t.co/66koheOsUq

— Naomi Klein (@NaomiAKlein) January 24, 2019

'March Now or Swim Later': As Elites Chit-Chat in Davos, Climate Strike Swells With 35,000 Students Marching in Brussels

Thursday's student demonstration in Brussels confirmed that the global climate strike movement is showing no signs of slowing down, with an estimated 35,000 young people marching through the European Union capital to demand that world leaders take bold action to stem the climate crisis.

The protest drew nearly three times as many marchers as last week's demonstration, when more than 12,000 people gathered in Brussels. Thursday's march was the third student strike in the past three weeks—each one significantly bigger than the last—as students across Belgium and other European countries have skipped their high school and college classes in order to shame those in power who refuse to move urgently.

"A massive mobilization once in a while, like that of December 2, is clearly not enough," Marie Hayens of the grassroots group Rise for Climate told the Brussels Times. "So we will be pressuring continuously and also outside Brussels."

Belgian students skip school for the climate

With Corporate Interests at the Helm, EPA Polluter Fines Down 85%, Hitting Lowest Level in 25 Years

With a former coal lobbyist at the helm of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the past six months—and a self-described "advocate" against the agency's work prior to that—the EPA has drastically reduced the fines it's levied against pollution-causing industries and companies since President Donald Trump took office.

The Washington Post reported Thursday that under Trump, the agency collected just $72 million in fines last year from automobile, fossil fuel, and other companies that pollute the environment—compared with an average of $500 million, which the EPA annually collected during the two decades prior to the Trump administration.

The decline represents an alarming 85 percent drop, suggesting that Trump's EPA is no longer in the business of protecting Americans from dangerous water and air pollution, according to former EPA enforcement official Cynthia Giles. "The public expects EPA to protect them from the worst polluters," Giles, who worked at the agency during the Obama administration, told the Post. "The Trump EPA is not doing that. What worries me is how industry will respond to EPA's abandonment of tough enforcement."

US off track to reach climate goals as oil and gas production expand

The US could become a net energy exporter by next year as oil and gas production expands, according to new projections from the Energy Information Administration. America is becoming increasingly reliant on natural gas – a fossil fuel that contributes to climate change but less so than coal. Solar power will grow rapidly too. Both will replace nuclear and coal power plants that are more expensive.

But the rapid shift toward natural gas and a slow-down in weaning off coal will put the US far behind the global climate change goals scientists say are necessary to avoid the worst impacts of rising temperatures. EIA data projects that by 2050, carbon dioxide levels from energy use will decline only about 2.5%, starting at 5,147m metric tons in 2017 and ending at 5,019 in 2050.

While previous presentations from the government agency have highlighted the outlook for greenhouse gases, this year’s did not. An official instead provided the figures via email. Trump administration officials have frequently downplayed and disregarded climate risks, although the EIA typically stays out of politics. ...

In addition to using more natural gas, the US could eventually stop making gains in phasing out coal. Declines in coal use could stabilize, leaving the most competitive plants online and able to run more. The amount of coal mined in America is also likely to decrease through 2035 and then hold steady. Industry energy use and emissions are projected to surge, while transportation’s carbon footprint could decline.

Also of Interest

Here are some articles of interest, some which defied fair-use abstraction.

The Corporatists Who Want Venezuela's President Ousted

Venezuela - Trump's Coup Attempt Is Based On A Seriously Flawed Plan

Where Are Democratic 2020 Hopefuls on the Trump-Backed Coup Attempt in Venezuela?

Five Years After Ferguson, St. Louis County’s New Prosecutor Confronts a Racist Criminal Justice System

The Rape of Anna Chambers Led to a Change in New York Law — but She Can’t Benefit From It

Seeking a Cure for Our New Gilded Age — For the Total Corporate Domination of Everything

Kurdish Forces Overrun ‘Last’ ISIS-Held Village in Eastern Syria

The Illegal CIA Operation That Brought Us 9/11

The Democrats’ Fear of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

4bn-year-old 'Earth rock' found in Apollo 14 crew's moon haul

A Little Night Music

Mickey Baker - Drucilla

Mickey Baker - Old Devil Moon

Mickey & Sylvia - 1st Recording of: It’s Gonna Work Out Fine

The Bonnie Sisters & Mickey Baker - Track That Cat

Mickey Baker's Soul Sound - Soul Taste

Sam Price w/Mickey Baker - Sammy Sings the Blues

Mickey Baker - Greasy Spoon

Mickey Baker - Kansas City

Mickey Baker - Shake It Up

Mickey Baker & Kitty Noble - St. Louis Blues

Little Sylvia Vanderpool & Mickey Baker - Speedy Life