Further War on Maduro’s Bolivarian Venezuela
It’s a bit of a tome, but you can look at individual headlines and decide which ones to read. I’ll start with today, then work backwards in time, or try to, as the word doc for this diary is in serious disarray by now.
‘Venezuela crisis: Russian military planes land near Caracas’, bbc.com, March 25, 2019
“Two Russian military planes landed in Venezuela’s main airport on Saturday, reportedly carrying dozens of troops and large amounts of equipment.
The planes were sent to “fulfill technical military contracts”, Russia’s Sputnik news agency reported.
Javier Mayorca, a Venezuelan journalist, wrote on Twitter that he saw about 100 troops and 35 tonnes of equipment offloaded from the planes.
It comes three months after the two nations held joint military exercises.
Russia has long been an ally of Venezuela, lending the South American nation billions of dollars and backing its oil industry and military.
Russia has also vocally opposed moves from the US to impose sanctions on the government of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.”
Oddly, the story at Sputnik has no photos, and one at the BBC has been removed. But the self same journalist has retweeted this photo:
Javier I. Mayorca Retweeted ‘Misión militar de Rusia esta en Venezuela, confirma agencia estatal’ https://buff.ly/2Tw36eV
Well, never mind, it’s up again on the BBC agitprop story, only inside this Tweet:
@steve_hanke “More Russian soldiers unload in #Venezuela to help prop up Pres. #Maduro. The Ilyushin IL-62M is used to carry military personnel and frequently flies troops from #Russia to Syria — indeed it stopped in #Syria on its way from Russia to #Caracas.”
Hanke’s CV on his Twitt account: ‘Applied Economist @JohnsHopkins | Sr. Fellow & Director #TroubledCurrencies Project @CatoInstitute | @Forbes| FX & Commodities Trader | Reagan White House Alum
‘Venezuela Presents Evidence of Anti-Bolivarian Terrorism’, telesurenglish, March 23
“The Venezuelan Minister of Culture unveiled telephone conversations between leaders of the right planning violence against the country.
The government of Venezuela announced the dismantling of a series of violent operations that were intended to be carried out in the country by mercenaries and assassins who entered the Venezuelan territory within the last few weeks.
The Minister of Communication Jorge Rodriguez, denounced that among these operations included the selective assassination of social and political leaders, through lists of names, sabotage against the metro system and the Caracas cable car, fake news through media and social networks, a conspiracy of general strikes in the labor sector, an assault on Miraflores Palace (the seat of Government), and false flag terrorist actions.
The Venezuelan politician also said that Central American and Colombian mercenaries and assassins who managed to enter the country, some of whom the government has identified, are being sought and will be arrested “wherever they are.”
Rodriguez also revealed a series of tests and detailed telephone conversations involving leaders of the Venezuelan right, such as the lawmaker of the National Assembly — in contempt since 2016 — the self-proclaimed Juan Guaido, Leopoldo Lopez, and Freddy Guevara among others, in preparation of terrorist operations against the Venezuelan state.
“The government of Nicolas Maduro accused local and international right-wing objectives to move from a strategy of siege through financial asphyxia, to an assault strategy, with the aim of taking power in its entirety or divide the country into two territories.”
And right on cue & in lockstep with the Guaidoistas, from the Guardian, March 24: ‘Venezuela opposition fears crackdown after Maduro threatens arrests; Embattled president hints that Juan Guaidó and allies are in his sights’
“Venezuela’s opposition is bracing for a severe political crackdown after Nicolás Maduro lashed out at the “diabolical pro-imperialist puppets” he claimed were trying to remove him from the presidency and vowed to imprison them all.”
“Any move against Guaidó could provoke a strong reaction from Washington. Donald Trump has thrown his weight behind efforts to unseat Maduro and the White House has warned of “significant” pushback if Guaidó is arrested or harmed.”
[wd here: could the CIA decide Guaido’s expndable, and carry out a false flag op against him? Inquiring minds and all that…]
“In an interview with Reuters, Guaidó, who is recognised by most western governments but wields little concrete power within Venezuela, claimed it was Maduro’s regime that was crumbling. “They are isolated, alone,” he said. “They are falling apart day by day.”
Speaking to the Guardian last month, Guaidó conceded he could be jailed or forced into exile. “Doing politics in Venezuela is a risk and you can pay with your life … Obviously, there is a latent risk.”
Gunson said the fact that the threat of US military intervention appeared to have receded meant Maduro’s government now felt it had regained the initiative. “And if its default position before was to wait for this opposition phenomenon to deflate, they are now willing to take more direct action and to challenge the international community to do its worst.”
[wd here: i don’t believe for a moment that ‘threat of US military intervention appears to have receded’ no matter the protestations of the LEAP nations and Bolsonaro having claimed so.]
“Gunson said Maduro’s inner circle would now be weighing the pros and cons of imprisoning Guaidó himself. “To lose him would be a really severe blow [to the opposition] – and both the government and the opposition know that. On the other hand, if Guaidó is put in jail then really the US and its key allies in the hemisphere would be obliged to do something severe.”
‘Maduro: US Withholding $5bn of Medical Supplies in ‘Criminal’ Measure; Maduro’s accusations came at a government re-launch of the pharmaceutical sector’, March 21, venezuelanalysis.com.
“The US government is withholding US $5 billion which was meant for the purchase of medicines and raw materials used in medical production, President Nicolas Maduro claimed Wednesday.
Speaking from Miranda State, Maduro denounced that US authorities “have ‘kidnapped’ US $5 billion [in] one of the most criminal, brutal, fascist economic measures which has been seen in the economic history of the world.” “Trump is the person responsible,” he added.
US and European governments have been working on freezing Venezuelan assets in recent months, including CITGO, the US-based subsidiary of state oil firm PDVSA, as well as US $1.2 billion worth of gold held in the Bank of England. According to Washington, these assets are being held to finance a “future government” led by self-declared “Interim President” Juan Guaido and to avoid alleged corruption on the part of the current government. US Vice President Mike Pence recently urged other countries to apply similar measures against Venezuelan assets.
“Maduro’s accusations coincided with a visit by a delegation from the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. The delegation is in Venezuela doing preliminary investigative work and meeting with pro- and anti-government actors in preparation for a possible future visit by UN High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet.”
‘US sanctions Venezuelan development bank in response to arrest of Guaido’s ‘terrorist’ aide’, 22 March, 2019 RT.com
“The US Treasury has imposed sanctions on Venezuela’s Economic and Social Development Bank and on four other institutions affiliated with it, calling in its statement for the release of Juan Guaido’s Chief of Staff Roberto Marrero.
While the move came as official US retaliation for Caracas’ targeting the associates of the wannabe president, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin painted the Bank – known under its Spanish acronym BANDES – as the most vile organization and definitely worth sanctioning.
“The willingness of Maduro’s inner-circle to exploit Venezuela’s institutions knows no bounds. Regime insiders have transformed BANDES and its subsidiaries into vehicles to move funds abroad in an attempt to prop up Maduro,” Mnuchin said in a statement.
On top of that, the official accused Venezuelan authorities of the “kidnapping, torture, and murder of Venezuelan citizens” and urged Caracas to release all “political prisoners,” including Marrero aide to the self-proclaimed president Guaido.
Venezuelan authorities arrested the chief of staff to ‘interim president’ Juan Guaido on Thursday during a raid on a “terrorist cell” that planned attacks on the country’s officials. The government also released images of two rifles allegedly seized by the Venezuelan Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN) during the raid on Marrero’s house. Guaido had earlier accused the security forces of ‘planting’ the weapons.”
Continuing that story from venezuelanaysis.com (all content at the site is CC):
“Venezuelan Interior Minister Nestor Reverol gave a press conference on Thursday afternoon in which he claimed Marrero led a “terrorist cell” that was planning attacks against public institutions using foreign mercenaries.
“Marrero was the person responsible for organizing these criminal groups,” Reverol told reporters, adding that a number of weapons as well as foreign currency had been seized. He added that the operation was done in coordination with the Attorney General’s office, and had a court-ordered arrest warrant.
Marrero’s bodyguard, Luis Alberto Paez, was also detained in the operation, according to reports. According to local witnesses at the time of the arrest, Marrero claimed that the weapons had been planted in his apartment.
The arrest drew a swift response from opposition leaders and US officials.
“As they cannot take the interim president prisoner, so they seek out people closest to him,” Guaido said in a press conference, adding that “Operation Freedom” continues around the country. When pressed about calling for a foreign intervention, the opposition leader said he would “demand whatever is required” to “put an end to the usurpation.”
“Trump’s Special Envoy for Venezuela, Elliott Abrams, had likewise vowed “consequences” for those involved in Marrero’s detention. Abrams is known for his leading role in the Reagan administration’s Central America policy, including the Iran-Contra scandal, and later for advising George W. Bush in the lead up to the war in Iraq.”
‘Trump, Bolsonaro and the danger of fascism’, 20 March 2019, wsws.org, a few snippets:
“The three-day visit to Washington by the president of Brazil brought together two of the most right-wing figures in the world: Jair Bolsonaro, a former military officer and fervent admirer of the blood-soaked military dictatorship that ruled Brazil from 1964 to 1985, and Donald Trump, who has become the pole of attraction for authoritarians and fascists the world over, including the gunman who slaughtered 50 Muslims at two New Zealand mosques last week.”
During their joint press conference at the White House Tuesday afternoon, Trump repeated his declaration, delivered to an audience of right-wing Cuban and Venezuelan exiles in Florida, that “The twilight hour of socialism has arrived in our hemisphere.” He emphasized, as he did in his State of the Union speech, that this also involved putting an end to the threat of socialism within the United States itself.”
“At the press conference, both Jair Bolsonaro and Trump pledged their support to a fascistic litany of “god, family and nation,” as Trump put it. Bolsonaro declared, “Brazil and the United States stand side-by-side in their efforts to share liberties and respect to traditional and family lifestyles, respect to God, our creator, against the gender ideology of the politically correct attitudes, and fake news.”
“Trump reiterated the mantra that “all options are on the table” against Venezuela. Bolsonaro was asked if he would permit US soldiers to use Brazilian soil as a base for military operations against Venezuela. Rather than dismissing that prospect as a violation of both Brazilian and Venezuelan sovereignty, he declined to answer, citing the need for maintaining operational secrecy and the element of surprise.
One of the bilateral agreements that Trump and Bolsonaro signed would allow the United States to use Brazil’s Alcantara Aerospace Launch Base for its satellites. Brazil also announced an end to visa requirements for US visitors. Both actions provide avenues for the integration of Brazil into Pentagon operations, particularly drone-missile warfare and the deployment of special operations forces.”
You may also remember that NATO had also admitted Colombia as a partner to the shining repurposed Cold Was 2.0 organization.
‘Diaz-Canel Defends Cuban Doctors’ Work in Venezuela After NYT Report’, telesur english, march 19, telesurenglish:
“According to an article published by the New York Times on March 17, Cuban doctors allegedly pressured their patients to vote in favor of Nicolas Maduro in exchange for medical attention, professional misconduct which allegedly was performed just a few days before the 2018 presidential elections.
“Cuban doctors can never be defamed. Their extraordinary human work carried out those lands which the Empire calls ‘the world’s dark corners’ belies the NYT and its reporter Casey,” President Diaz-Canel said on Twitter and pointed out that “feeding Marco Rubio’s hatred war against Cuba and Venezuela is a crime. We are Cuba.”
Concerning the U.S. media accusations, the Cuban Public Health Minister Jose Angel Portal recalled what Fidel Castro, Cuban former president and revolutionary leader, said about the Cuban doctors’ work:
“The [Cuban] medical personnel, who departs to save lives anywhere, even at the risk of losing theirs, is the greatest example of solidarity that humankind can offer.”
Yeah, I dug it up: ‘It Is Unspeakable’: How Maduro Used Cuban Doctors to Coerce Venezuela Voters’, nicholas casey, NYTSlimes, march 17, 2019
@johnsteppling ‘me on press tv discussing venezuela’
And last, but certainly not least is from the most ubiquitous online presence after Ocasio-Cortez: ‘Ilhan Omar: We must apply our universal values to all nations. Only then will we achieve peace’, washingtonpost.com, March 17, 2019
“Valuing human rights also means applying the same standards to our friends and our enemies. We do not have the credibility to support those fighting for human rights in Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua if we do not also support those fighting for human rights in Honduras, Guatemala and Brazil. Our criticisms of oppression and regional instability caused by Iran are not legitimate if we do not hold Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to the same standards.”
From no2nato2019.org:
Mass Mobilization: Oppose NATO, War & Racism!
Demand: No US war on Venezuela!
Protest Washington, DC, Lafayette Park (across from the White House)
1 PM Saturday, March 30, 2019.
It is 165 years since the approval of the Law Abolition the Slavery in Venezuela. Never again will the patriot people be subjugated by any empire. With the strength of our African ancestors, we will defend our freedom from any threat. pic.twitter.com/UzYRD29SmF
— Nicolás Maduro (@maduro_en) March 25, 2019
Hope you hold it indefinitely by rotation folks every few days. I will be there next week https://t.co/GOFiyz6Uvw
— Ajamu Baraka (@ajamubaraka) March 21, 2019
This week, we pivot to connect the concerns of African/Black people in Venezuela, around the world and in the United States as we prepare to oppose NATO's 70th anniversary meeting. READ and RT https://t.co/mHJd0Ubtj4 pic.twitter.com/G9BY6jY2c8
— Black Alliance for Peace (@Blacks4Peace) March 23, 2019
(cross-posted from Café Babylon)
Comments
Thank you WD
for the updates to keep us informed on VZ. I guess you know already about today's electric blackout, which seems to have been largely remedied by now.
My sense is that this blackout was March 7 redux, i.e., another planned operation.
Are such blackouts a regular and/or ongoing occurrence in VZ, other than when they're planned as part of a coup attempt?
i saw it on Xianist marco
rubio's twit account, and rebutal from...oh, lawdie...i've already forgotten on twitter. maybe @maduro_english?
no, as we've seen, it's a long-term CIA psyop afoot, especially when done by an 'insider' from the electrical trade union, the one one guaido announced he had met with...a week ago (?).
thanks for reading and commenting, eye round, esp. during this busy end of russia-gate season.
Putin's red line. Again
I am happy to see Russia putting its foot down on the hegemony and flying in some of its troops to back it up. Guess is Vlad's way of telling his puppy that he has gone too far. I have never understood why democrats or the forces behind them have wanted to get Trump out of office. He has been following the neocons' line better than Hillary could have dreamed of doing. Not by deregulating everything that isn't nailed down, but putting PNAC's goals on steroids. What's not to like?
Think Hillary would have been able to get the tax cuts through? Not a chance. Think she would be kissing Israel's backside? Nope. Think she wouldn't have gotten a lot of pushback for overthrowing Madura? Trump's the man for the job and maybe, just maybe the democrats pushing Russia Gate is their way of making sure that Trump is reelected? Far fetched? Maybe.
I enjoyed this article on Trump's making globalism great again.
Scientists are concerned that conspiracy theories may die out if they keep coming true at the current alarming rate.
well said,
although the troops are few, but: what's in the tons of cargo? not long ago russia had flown in pilot trainers as well w/ the several jets they'd brought.
but yes, what's not to like w/ pnac goal being one-two-threed. i'd almost put that graphic with all the doors labeled in, i confess. but as far as hillary; Think she wouldn't have gotten a lot of pushback for overthrowing Madura?...i'm not so sure she wouldn't have, esp. as this all started under Obomba (no options are of the table', etc.
oh, goodness, your cj hopkins link is too long for me to read, but i do enjoy his rhetoric often, so thanks, snoopy.
That's a definite yes.
There is no too low to blow for the clinton foundation.
She'd take a yahu gagging and make it look like he did her a favor.
Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.
Have I mentioned
I love the varied turn of phrase that shows up on this site?
Glad I'm not the only one that ain't shy about showing a rough side. It's where I live.
wd, I read all of these and check most of the links, I just don't comment in all of them. Just so you know it's Never an unappreciated effort.
Ya got to be a Spirit, cain't be no Ghost. . .
Explain Bldg #7. . . still waiting. . .
If you’ve ever wondered whether you would have complied in 1930’s Germany,
Now you know. . .
sign at protest march
i apprecaite it,
mi amigo guapo.
when i'd almost finished pasting this
diary together, i was dumbstruck that i'd left out a very big earlier development; try as i might, i could remember the new 'organization's' name, and for an hour or so i' bingled all the names of the state leaders w/ 'telesur' until i found 'posur' on wikipedia, which of course led me to search their site and found it:
‘Chile: Activists, Social Movements Protest Against US-Backed Integration Body Prosur’, telesurenglish.net, March 22, 2019, few outtakes:
“Latin American Conservative presidents come together to give life to Prosur, the new U.S. tool to attack Venezuela.”
“Chilean social and political organizations were holding demonstrations Friday against the Forum for the Latin American Progress and Development (Prosur), a meeting convened by the right-wing Latin American governments which are coordinating actions to dissolve the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) and consolidate the U.S. interventionist agenda against Venezuela.”
“The first Prosur meeting will be attended by the presidents of Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Peru. The Uruguayan and Bolivian Heads of State will not attend, although they will send diplomatic representatives.”
closing time for me,
and tonight's lullaby will be from playing for change, world peace through music around the world:
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hGSqqhhokE]
g' night, all.
Nice video wd.
While the democratic war party recruits more imperialism supporters against evil dictators like Maduro, some people are focusing on peace. Amen.
Can't believe AOC can get away with saying shit like that and it doesn't matter a bit to her progressive supporters. People need to look a little closer.
playing for change
covers so many great songs; i could watch some of them over and over, as this one. iirc, it's a stevie wonder tune, but don't hold me to that given the holes in my memory. ; )
ah, the wapo dreck was ilhan omar, but really, on VZ AOC had, as well as tulsi and a number of other 'progressives', first criminalizing maduro's 'regime' for shooting unarmed protestors, illegal elections, etc., then virtue-signaling: 'but stop the sanctions; they hurt ordinary venezuelans!'. then following all that w/ 'we don't approve a US military invention unless congress or the UN authorizes it. my stars.
but bernie on 'the dead dictator hugo chavez', etc. is similar. i forget, but a new john steppling piece has more, and i'd kinda thought to feature it, but there are parts of it that i'm not really getting even after a few reads. the parts i DO know from the twittersphere are easy, though. but anti-empire is a must for actual socialists, as is anti-capitalism, of course.
found it; this was his statement in three tweets. swear to gawd, even zeese or flowers said 'but he got there in the end'. i disagree mightily, of course, the ending doesn't justify the crimes listed ahead of it, as they are all rubbish.
Told you about Zeese and Flowers.
But it's an interesting divide on the left in viewing that statement. Same thing with things Gabbard has said. It's about the party mostly and defeating the republicans. The game, it's about the game.
yeah, you did...
but they've been awesome in their support for the maduro government, and have spent sooo much time putting together material showing the lies. lemme go find one. here's the most comprehensive one. but hell, they went with the black alliance for peace to VZ last week, that was supremely kewl, imo. but to say the truth, one entry at venezuelanalyis did the same thing: praising the 'dear secretary pompeo' letter signatories for...saying 'stop the sanctions, no military intervention', after criminalizing maduro heartily.
on democracy now! ro silicon valley khanna DSA (iirc) told sharmini perez that he'd been talking to jimmy carter whom he'd claimed was refused observer status for the recent election. and carter had done so for years, and claimed that they were the fairest elections he'd ever seen.
but oh, the tankiesphere is (ahem) exposing him.... Click for stand-alone)
Power keep on lyin',
people keep on dyin'
Damn that's just so right on. I should go on a rant.
please
don't hold back. these are the days for polemics. : )
Actually wd,
these are election days as you can see, unfortunately. I've been thru this here before, that's how it started and now that Bernie is up and running, polemics against will be trolling in effect. But I haven't stopped ranting, you know where to find it.
Memo to Juan Guaido
Κύριε:
Εσείς διατάζετε από εμάς, τον δικαιοδόχο σας και τον κύριο, να σταματήσετε αμέσως και να εγκαταλείψετε το ψευδές και κακόβουλο αίτημά σας προς την Προεδρία της Βενεζουέλας και να υποβάλετε αμέσως στον νόμιμο κάτοχο του ίδιου γραφείου: ο συνάδελφός μας και ο σύμμαχος, Ο γερουσιαστής Νικόλας Μαντούρο.
Δόθηκε στο Παλάτι μας στην Κωνσταντινούπολη αυτή την εικοστή πέμπτη μέρα του Μαρτίου (N.S.) το έτος 2019 του Κυρίου μας Ιησού Χριστού Παντοκράτορα.
Με εκτιμιση,
Señor:
Por la presente, le ordenamos a Usted, su legítimo Señor y Maestro, que cese y desista inmediatamente su reclamo falso y malicioso ante la Presidencia de Venezuela, y que se someta de inmediato al titular legítimo de la misma oficina: Nuestro colega y aliado, el Romano Senador Nicolas Maduro.
Dado en nuestro palacio en Constantinopla, el día vigésimo quinto de marzo (N.S.) en el año 2019 de nuestro Señor Jesucristo Pantokrator.
Sinceramente,
Sir:
You are hereby ordered by Us, your rightful Overlord and Master, to immediately Cease and Desist your false and malicious claim to the Presidency of Venezuela, and to immediately submit to the rightful holder of the same said office: Our Colleague and Ally, the Roman Senator Nicolas Maduro.
Given at Our Palace at Constantinople this Twenty-Fifth Day of March (N.S.) in the Year 2019 of our Lord Jesus Christ Pantokrator.
Sincerely,
CONSTANTINE XII THANATOKEPHALOIDES, CAESAR AUGUSTUS
ΚΩΝΣΤΑΝΤΙΝ ΔΩΔΕΚΑΤΟΣ ΘΑΝΑΤΟΚΕΦΑΛΟΊΔΕΣ, ΚΑΙΣΑΡΑΣ ΑΥΓΟΥΣΤΟΣ
EMPEROR OF THE ROMANS AND PERPETUAL DICTATOR
ΑΥΤΟΚΡΑΤΟΡΑΣ ΤΩΝ ΡΟΜΑIΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΠΕΡΙΠΕΔΟ ΔΙΚΤΥΑΚΟ
/snark
/snarque
/σναρκ
The point of this snarky joke, of course, is that I have exactly as much likelihood of being Roman Emperor Constantine XII as Juan Guaido has of being President of Venezuela!
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
nicely done, and my .
stars, how many languages you speak and write, dead head. how about clinton grabbing the US crown?
but really, although the initial feb 23 coup ('let the humanitarian aid in!') failed, the continuing 'soft power coup' efforts aren't small, especially coupled with the MSM buying all the bullshit about maduro and his government. but much of it's akin to nixon/kissinger feats to use the CIA 'make the (Allende) economy scream' thru false flags, blackouts, disrupting (bombing?) rail lines, and all sorts of agitprop.
same shit, different day, i reckon. and the coverage of the 'new blackouts' keep on with the "oh, those poor babbies in the hospitals! and oh! how many are dying for lack of oxygen!"...just like three weeks ago, and marco rubio's tweets. nope, they made sure the hospitals all had back-up generator fuel, went to great lengths to get water and food out, an tra la la. and the oppo has offered carrots and sticks to the military...and still they stay strong, which of course...is the whole ballgame...for now. let's hear from the man himself now.
@maduro_en · 16h16 hours ago
"RT @PresidencialVen: "The mechanisms of insurance, maintenance and communication between the different stations have fully worked, which has allowed a restoration process of the National Electric System in record time", stated the Vice president @jorgerpsuv"
@maduro_en
"RT @PresidencialVen: "The electric service has been restored in almost the entire national territory and in the next few hours, the general population will have full restoration of all the electric power service" said the Vice president @jorgerpsuv"
in the process of learning Greek
I'm only now beginning to learn Greek.
(Google Translate is my friend!)
My point was to create the memo in the applicable languages of a modern "Roman Empire".
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
got it,
but still....whoosh! an occasional commenter at the Café (Unity4Jin greece) seemed to believe somehow that i had too much time to spare or something, as he invites me to various forums on what he bafflingly believes are related issues, the last one...in french.
'er...yeppers, i had 4 years of (barely) conversational high school french, so...merci beaucoup, pero no gracias, mein freunde.'
gotta scoot, it's 3 loaves of bread day, and i need to get the dough set to rise before mr. wd comes in for his noon meal. i so duz hate it when he beats me...(j/k of course) ; )
For Hispanophones:
...... here are two links to free live streaming radio broadcasts from all of Venezuela:
https://radios.co.ve/
http://radiodevenezuela.com/
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
sure would be a
nice time to be fluent in spanish...
Thanks wendy
I truly hope for the sake of humanity and sanity, these issues resolve themselves in a more productive way than what the US and Russia are offering.
I had to wonder, living where I do, whether blackouts in VZ were common. Here in NZ it is usually the result of a storm. Because the infrastructure is not especially robust, we can count on several ‘blackouts’ a year nationwide, even in Auckland, home to almost half the population. Because of the especially poor conditions in VZ I can imagine that it is even more common. It doesn’t mean that corrupt intentions weren’t involved, but this is also a time in VZ that is pronounced in its degraded state.
“Blackouts have long been common in Venezuela due to years of underinvestment and lack of maintenance.”
all russia seems to be
offering is by way of some defense against the US-sponsored coup, although by now it's also a posur coup. and the oppo still refuses to even negotiate with the maduro government.
as far as your reuters claims, i wouldn't expect reuters to take anything but the western hegemonic line, nor to give any evidence whatsoever to that claim. but i did look it up on the wiki's 'list of major power outtages' (not that the wiki is always accurate), and the chart from 1978 forward only lists the march VZ one. but further down the page are the lesser blackouts, and yep: aukland is mentioned.
but mr. wd and i had needed to tag team for this memory, but the combined lightbulb let to finding this again from telesur english: ‘President Maduro: Cyberattack on Electric Grid Came From US’, telesur, march 15, 2019
well, the last didn't turn out to be so, but i remember stephen lendeman offering that the attacks might have been akin to the stuxnet virus, and if so, it would be hard to erase permanently. oh, and along the way i grabbed you this history on the guri hydroplant.
but in that telesur piece nicolás had again mentioned the cnn videos showing the attempted drone assassination against him, and here's the CCN tweet w/ the video:
thanks so much for reading this and weighing in, janis b.
arrrrggh...
and it's still a hatchet job on maduro (from the alleged confessor'), and from the aptly named wolf blitzer: 'alleged assassination attempt', with quotes from some-guaido, et.al. claiming it was a gummint hoax for sympathy. perhaps nicolás maduro wasn't familiar enough with the english used?
but from the tankiesphere yesterday:
46 minutes is short? ay caramba!
Whoa wendy
Bolivar Cuts the Sky
Thank you for that powerfully elucidating documentary.
the half that i've
watched so far is breath-taking, and brings an insane amount of history (and visuals) i'd never known. i wish there were a transcript available, but maybe there is. bless your heart for watching it all; i got caught up in some household disasters here, but they're sorted now, so maybe i can finish.
but dagnabbit, there are so many other stories to write up just now: new (UK) integrity initiative dumps, boss tweet gifting the golan heights to israel, increased bombing of the gaza strip (related of course to trump's 'gift', further bombing of pakistan by india, the lists just never quit, do they?
dayum, though, i'm so elated you loved bolivar cuts the sky.
Thank you for passing it on,
and for all the great music!
welcome, but srsly,
it was my favorite tankie who'd retweeted it. got a couple things to add at the bottom, as in: guaido, trump, bolton are all in: 'never say die' mode, curse their souls. ooopsie,one love...sorry ram dass.
but yeah, there sure is some fine music out there; whooosh. glad you liked it. ; ) oh, and a belated thank you for showing me how to use smile punctuation that doesn't turn into one of those yukky yellow emoticons.
a new addition:
‘Russia on military planes in Venezuela: Our specialists are there based on cooperation treaty’, 26 March, 2019, RT.com
"Russian specialists are in Venezuela as part of the 2001 military-technical cooperation deal with Caracas that doesn’t need further approval, Moscow said after reports of the arrival of two military planes with troops and cargo.
Russia develops its relations with Venezuela “in strict accordance with the Constitution of this country and in full respect of its legislation,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
The existing deal was ratified by both Russia and Venezuela, and it “doesn’t require any additional approval from the National Assembly of Venezuela,” she pointed out.
Following reports that two Russian military planes carrying around 100 troops and cargo landed outside Caracas on Saturday, the Organization of American States labeled it “a harmful act to Venezuelan sovereignty,” while the US State Department insisted that it was “a reckless escalation of the situation” in the country.
US National Security Adviser and one of the strongest backers of regime change in Venezuela, John Bolton, was also outraged, writing on Twitter that: “the US will not tolerate hostile foreign military powers meddling with the Western Hemisphere’s shared goals of democracy, security, and the rule of law.”
oh, you mean like your boss 'gifting' the golan heights to bibi so he can win his coming election, while being under investigation for bribery and corruption? you object to that sort of meddling, too, mr. mustache?
boy, that 'gift' is not setting well w/ most of the world, is it? and now the war w/ gaza is blazing hot.
"democracy, security and rule of law"?
Wow, it's almost too much to believe, and take. The rule of law reference is one thing, but the reference to democracy is what gets me most. That's what they do, they always throw out the democracy card which is given cover by the U.S. political system, i.e., this country is always held up to be a democracy. That's what has to be attacked by the radicals (while the moderates vote for democratic party politicians thereby continuing to give credence to the democracy bullshit).
they live in an alternate
universe of their own choosing, we might call it 'democracy porn', but of course vis a vis bolivarian venezuela, they choose to believe no matter how many national observers certified the election results as valid, maduro's henchmen 'stole the election, thus is...the usurper, whereas some guiado (likely cia, trained by otpor and canvas) is the president 'as per VZ's constitution', which has been debunked countless times, and various other rubbish they claim to be at play.
i've been trying to make my way thru the 46 minute video on the history of early bolivarism in cuba, and a lot of the history of VZ from the early 20th century on, and how eventually the only thing left was debt to the IMF that totally immiserated the citizens to the point where folks in the barrios were subsisting on dog food, but oh, no...not the elites once again.
a new commenter showed up at the café, and in the email info i'd peeked into his newish site, but the title on one entry made me think of the racism in this coup. abby martin had pointed it out, as had greg palast, but every link in his tweets that pointed to one of his exposés about it all (with photos showing it) went to...page not found.
maybe i'll try again later, but for now, bruce cockburn's great homage to the IMF:
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68zccrskOqQ]
you don't really give a fuck
about the people in misery
well, shiver me
timbers, this one's up again at his website: 'In Venezuela, White Supremacy is a Key to Trump’s Coup', February 8, 2019, Greg Palast
Black Africans were the biggest losers of Obama & Clinton’s coup
against Qaddafi, but no one wants to talk about that.
http://login.stream.aljazeera.com/story/black-africans-come-under-fire-l...
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=black+africans+qaddafi+nato
Having NATO destroy Libya was also Sarkozy of France’s coup, but that’s another story.
ah, the memory of
the travesty that was R2P libya made my stomach roil all over again. remember we were even shown videos of the blacks in jails and prisons? clearly, that even unarmed blacks, male and female, were imprisoned, raped, tortured, shows that it was entirely a racist operation.
please, gods; don't let me hear the Ovien Queen's cackling for another minute! well, sarkozy of course thought his part in all this would win him his election, the fuquewad. what was the expression: 'leading from behind'?
thanks, miz lizard...i think... ; )
i'd forgotten to add to
greg palast's content re: hugo chavez having called himself “Negro e Indio, palast calls them mestizos (mixed spanish/indigenous, iirc), but given the Black Alliance for Peace calling maduro supporters 'our brothers and sisters, i did find this from venezuelanalysis dated 2004:
‘Racism and Racial Divides in Venezuela, An interview with Jesus "Chucho" Garcia, Venezuela's leading activist against and researcher of racism in Venezuela."
...highlighting Chucho García, one of the founders of the Afro-Venezuelan Network.
it's not clear from my bingling, but he may have crossed over fairly recent.
apologies for forgetting, but ukraine votes for prez on march 31, so that seems to be where i'm headed. ; ) i've already found one surprising turn...
odd news yesterday
from telesur english; i have no idea as to what this signifies, my only frame of references are that cuba is on the next regime change list for the trump administration, plus ‘the cuban doctors in VZ fake news, but in any event...how very strange it is.
‘Britain's Prince Charles Arrives in Cuba on First Royal Visit’, march 24, telesur english:
it's closig time for me, a long, long day here. tonight's lullaby will be mr. wd’s favorite playing for change cover of rasta peter tosh’s brilliant song. the rasta called the western hegemon ‘the great satan, babylon’. jah is the ratafarian name for god. sleep well and restoratively; g' night.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyX82K7CgoE]
While vital that we know what's going on
It's nonetheless very distressing to watch the appropriation of countries between the U.S. and Russia play out again in my lifetime. Cold War 2.0 here we are.
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
it is indeed
a new cold war, zoebear. the western hegemon must be in full command and control, can't afford a multipolar world. g' night.
i know it's a dead thread, but still...
i'll enter a closing lullaby; g' night all:
[video:https://youtu.be/RIOrGu6Ub4U]
morning additions:
‘Regime change ramp-up? Guaido announces Venezuela-wide 'tactical action' against Maduro’, RT.com today, 28 Mar, 2019
Bill van Auken is reporting a few other items from the trump meeting with juan guaido’s wife (‘VZ’s first lady’)