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    Default Re: Turmoil in Venezuela

    @Flash, I wish you a prompt recovery. Thank you for taking the time to read my post.

    This link includes the (funny) anexos. Those are from the first, non-revised "convenio". I copied a small part of the text below:

    Quote Dado en Caracas, a los 30 días del mes de octubre del año 2.000
    Anexo I

    Seguidamente se relaciones la lista de los servicios y productos que ofrece la República de Cuba a la República Bolivariana de Venezuela.
    1. Agroindustria Azucarera y sus derivados
    Cuba ofrece a Venezuela su aval de experiencias y toda la asesoría técnica que solicite, con el propósito de contribuir a la recuperación, modernización y desarrollo del sistema productivo agroindustrial azucarero y sus derivados.
    1.1 Asistencia técnica para la operación técnico-productiva de los centrales azucareros que defina la parte venezolana en las siguientes especialidades:
    -Superintendencia de Fábrica
    -Maquinaria Industrial
    - Termonenergética
    - Fabricación de Azúcar
    - Laboratorio
    - Agricultura Cañera
    Most of those "services" are not quantifiable, i.e. no way to get hourly or monthly compensation for the offerings.

    I dare to say funny because services as shown below were offered:

    Quote 8.2 Envío de salas de video educaciones fabricadas en Cuba, en la cantidad que se solicite y transmisión de la tecnología para producirlas en Venezuela, Asimismo se comunicarán las experiencias cubanas en el uso social de tales salas de video.
    A Cuban-made "educational video room" may be technologically better than any Japanese, American, Taiwanese or Korean offer? No, of course. What cubans did was re-sell assets like these, two times the price. Big business for them, big business for the venezuelan counterparts.

    Medical/Tech personnel (including sports trainers) is the crown jewel for Cuba, this table below (from the detailed explanation link) summarizes the monthly payment for each of the "highly trained" assets:

    Attachment 39763

    Neither Cuban Pesos nor weak Bs., Greenbacks. No altruism, Socialism was not in sight. Payment is in U.S. dollars. Hard currency.

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    Default Re: Turmoil in Venezuela

    Russian authorities have a 'two-punch plan' to help the Venezuelan people

    Joaquin Flores Fort Russ
    Sat, 26 Jan 2019 12:07 UTC


    © Sputnik / Aleksey Nikolskyi

    Russian authorities have rolled out a two part plan to help its strategic partner, Venezuela out of the deep crisis. The first is aimed immediately at security stability, and involves the use of Kremlin approved Russian mercenaries from the Wagner corp. Reuters reported earlier today: "Private military contractors who do secret missions for Russia flew into Venezuela in the past few days to beef up security for President Nicolas Maduro in the face of U.S.-backed opposition protests, according to two people close to them."

    A third source close to the Russian contractors also told Reuters there was a contingent of them in Venezuela, but could not say when they arrived or what their role was.

    Russia, which has backed Maduro's socialist government to the tune of billions of dollars, this week promised to stand by him after opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself president with Washington's endorsement.

    It was the latest international crisis to split the global superpowers, with the United States and Europe backing Guaido, and Russia and China urging non-interference."

    As a note of correction, the EU recognizes that Maduro is president of Venezuela, despite unofficial or personal statements expressed by various EU or European leaders, and the Reuters report here is in serious error.

    In connection with this, is the previous December 6th 2018 weapons agreement. Venezuela and Russia had signed several multi-billion dollar contracts during the visit of the Venezuelan delegation led by President Nicolas Maduro to Moscow.

    "Today, the contracts have been signed to guarantee investments exceeding $5 billion with our Russian partners in joint ventures to ramp up crude oil production," he said. "In addition, we are guaranteeing an investment of over $1 billion for the mining sector, mostly in gold production."

    The Venezuelan President also said that a deal on supplies of Russian wheat to the South American country has been signed during his visit to Moscow along with a contract on the maintenance of weapons.

    "We... have signed a contract to ensure supplies of 600,000 tonnes of wheat for Venezuelan people," he stated, pointing out that the supplies are guaranteed for "2019 and onwards." "Furthermore, a contract has been signed to provide assistance, maintenance and repair of weapons of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela."

    Also, Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez said that same December 6th that the Venezuelan Armed Forces are interested in the modernization of land-based anti-air systems previously supplied by Russia.

    These are generally understood as a reference to the S-300 and S-400 system, which Venezuela will need to obtain - more urgently so now that the U.S will likely soon be threatening 'targeted precision strikes' on 'government and military targets' to 'hasten Maduro's stepping down'.

    The second part of the plan involves a four point economic revision.

    According to the Russian publication the Bell , citing sources in Russian government, Venezuela's economy is in collapse and inflation reached about 1,300,000% last year.

    There are four main points in the proposed package of measures.

    First, Russian economists offer to introduce a basic income for Venezuelan households. They claim a basic income is a more effective measure to combat poverty than fuel subsidies that the government intended to introduce beginning January 1, 2019. "Real money can be spent both on fuel and the household necessities," said an interlocutor familiar with the proposals.

    Second, Russian officials propose to stop funding the budget deficit with new currency. In August last year, Maduro removed five zeroes from the currency and reissued it as the "sovereign bolivar," but without any actions to reduce the budget deficit, the currency soon lost 95% of its value against the dollar.

    Third, Russian economists proposed that Venezuela implement tax reforms, following the example of Russia, moving to indirect taxation instead of direct taxes.

    The fourth measure proposed by Russia involves an increase in oil production and maximum export diversification.

    It is not known if the Venezuelan government is ready to implement the recommendations of Russian officials, the news outlet reports. However, they got the important things they needed from Russia after the meeting with Maduro in early December. As a result of the talks, Maduro stated, Russia is investing over $5 billion into Venezuela's oil industry and over $1 billion into the mining industry. Russia will also supply 600,000 tons of grain to the country.

    From 2006, the Russian government and Russian oil giant Rosneft provided at least $17 billion in loans to Caracas.
    SOTT Comment: ZeroHedge reports that Russian military contractors are now on the scene in Venezuela, ensuring that the country doesn't become another Syria:
    Maduro - now backed by Russian military contractors, has urged his supporters to take to the streets to defend the legitimacy of his government. The Venezuelan leader has vowed that his country won't turn into a "Syria or Libya" situation, and that the Venezuelan military must prepare for an invasion. [...]

    As the international community splits along governments who continue to back embattled Venezuelan ruler Nicolas Maduro and governments, led by the US, who have officially recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country's legitimate head of state, Reuters reported that a group of Russian mercenaries with ties to the Kremlin have been sent to Venezuela to provide security for Maduro as he struggles with the biggest threat to his rule in his six years in power.

    The contractors are believed to be from the Wagner Group, a group of private contractors who have performed secret missions on behalf of the government, including fighting in Syria and the Ukraine (which brings to mind this incident from last February when US-backed forces killed 100 Russian mercenaries in what was the closest thing to a direct proxy conflict between Russia and the US in Syria). It's unclear when the contractors arrived, or when they intend to leave. Russia has offered to mediate the conflict between Maduro and Guaido, while joining with China to criticize the US for interfering in Venezuelan affairs.

    Russia, which has invested billions of dollars in the Maduro regime, pledged to stand by the embattled socialist leader this week. Yevgeny Shabayev, leader of a local chapter of a paramilitary group told Reuters he had heard the number of security contractors in Venezuela is roughly 400. Russia's defense ministry and Venezuela's information ministry haven't responded to requests for comment. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said we have "no such information" when asked about the contractors.
    Russia Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has commented on the work of the Wagner Group recently, stating that they have 'nothing to do with state bodies'.
    Related: ====================================================

    Remember the two TU-160 Russian bombers which landed in Venezuela after an uninterrupted 10,000 Km trip and turned Pompeo and the MIC into a whiter shade of livid?

    "La réalité est un rêve que l'on fait atterrir" San Antonio AKA F. Dard

    Troll-hood motto: Never, ever, however, whatsoever, to anyone, a point concede.

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    Default Re: Turmoil in Venezuela

    Then, further down South:


    Argentina – Is the IMF Intervention helped by HAARP?

    By Peter Koenig for The Saker Blog
    January 25, 2019

    HAARP – the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program – was initiated as an ionospheric research program, established in 1993 in Gakona, Alaska and operated by the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. It was and is funded by the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Navy, the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Its alleged purpose “was to analyze the ionosphere and investigate the potential for developing ionospheric enhancement technology for radio communications and surveillance. HAARP is a high-power, high-frequency transmitter used for study of the ionosphere.”

    That is the official version. HAARP was supposed to be shut down in May 2014, but then it was decided that the facility would be transferred to the University of Alaska. In reality, this sophisticated research project, owned by the military, and most probably with CIA hands in it, is continuing in some secret location, working on “ionospheric enhancement technologies”, to be used to influence weather patterns – in fact, to weaponize weather.

    The first known occasion when the US air force used high power, high frequency transmitters, was to influence the intensity and duration of the monsoon during the Vietnam war in the 1960s. The idea was to render the transition of the Vietcong from North to South Vietnam on their jungle paths more difficult or impossible through extended heavy rains. To what extent this attempt was successful is not known.

    However, since then, research has evolved and it is now possible to influence weather patterns throughout the world. In other words, to create droughts, floods, storm, hurricanes – wherever such weather phenomena are convenient for the purposes of empire and its vassals. Talk about man-made climate change. Imagine the amount of money that can be generated by such unsuspicious weather modifications – let alone the amount of human suffering, famine, despair – chaos, economic collapse – eventually entire segments of populations can be wiped out. And all will be attributed to ‘climate change’, which are claimed to be man-made due to our civilization’s excessive CO2 emissions. Man-made – indeed!

    —–

    Extensive and prolonged changes in weather patterns can have devastating economic impacts. The Pampas, stretching over some 750,000 km2, is one of South America’s most fertile region, covering Argentina’s norther tier from the Atlantic to the Andes and also all of Uruguay and part of southern Brazil. The area was struck in 2017 / 2018 by one of the harshest droughts in the last 10 years, severely curtailing Argentina’s main staple – wheat, corn, soybean and beef. Argentina is the world’s third largest exporter of soybean and corn.

    Argentina was counting on record agricultural yields that would contribute significantly to the expected 3.5% GDP growth in 2018. Instead, 2018 agricultural exports are expected to be reduced by some US$ 3.5 billion. This is expected to result in a cut of GDP growth by at least 1% to 1.5%, not counting agriculture related industries that will suffer losses, many of which may have to close and thereby also increasing unemployment – and human misery.

    The neoliberal Mauricio Macri, who came to power in December 2015 as an implant by Washington, has already devastated the country by drastic austerity programs, combined with severe tariff increases for public and social services, i.e. transportation, electricity fuel, water supply, as well as health and education. The country is in shambles with an unemployment rate, officially hovering around 10%, but in reality, it is more like 20% to 25%. The poverty rate increased under Macri’s dictatorship to about 35%, from about 15% in November 2015, before Macri came to power. Strikes and social protests abound. There is not one week without social unrest – which drives the country further into the ground. Like the Yellow Vest in France who want to oust President Macron, Argentinians want to get rid of Macri.

    In comes the IMF which has recently published a devastating report about Argentina’s state of the economy. It predicts a grim scenario with rising interest rates on Argentina’s mostly dollar denominated debt, triggering local money production and a predicted inflation of 40% – a continuous loss of purchasing power, hurting especially the poor and average income earners, prompting more social unrest – a vicious downward spiral.

    In June 2018, the IMF, invited by Macri to the rescue, followed its usual recipe of more debt and more austerity. The scenario looks pretty similar to what happened in 2010 / 2011 and forward in Greece, just on a much larger scale, at least by a factor of 5 over a 3-year period. In Argentina, the IMF “agreed” to a standby credit of US$ 50 billion – the largest in the IMF’s history – with a tranche of US$ 15 billion to be drawn immediately. However, in September 2018, the peso crashed under the burden of debt and inflation and Argentina faced insolvency. No problem. The IMF came to the rescue with an additional US$ 13.4 billion bringing the total for 2018 to US$ 28.3 billion (Greece’s first ‘bailout’ tranche in 2010 which was €20 billion (US$22.6 billion at today’s exchange rate).

    That the IMF repeats Greek “mistake” in Argentina, is, of course, a joke. This is not a mistake. This is calculated greed, administered to the people of Argentina, usurpation at its worst. Argentina is a much larger and richer country. Much more, almost infinitely more, can be extracted from her economy than from Greece’s. And Argentina has been primed by a complacent president, put in place by those financial oligarchs, intent to milk Argentina to the bones.

    Would it therefore be surprising, if the Argentine economic disaster, and consequently the IMF “rescue action” was helped a bit by “climate change” à la HAARP?
    Peter Koenig is an economist and geopolitical analyst. He is also a water resources and environmental specialist. He worked for over 30 years with the World Bank and the World Health Organization around the world in the fields of environment and water. He lectures at universities in the US, Europe and South America. He writes regularly for Global Research; ICH; RT; Sputnik; PressTV; The 21st Century; TeleSUR; The Vineyard of The Saker Blog, the New Eastern Outlook (NEO); and other internet sites. He is the author of Implosion – An Economic Thriller about War, Environmental Destruction and Corporate Greed – fiction based on facts and on 30 years of World Bank experience around the globe. He is also a co-author of The World Order and Revolution! – Essays from the Resistance.
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    "La réalité est un rêve que l'on fait atterrir" San Antonio AKA F. Dard

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    Default Re: Turmoil in Venezuela

    There we go... the pack of coyotes howling to the baguette held by the not-so-hidden hand of the orchestra conductor:


    France, Germany & Spain issue ‘identical’ threats to recognize Venezuela’s self-appointed president

    RT
    Published time: 26 Jan, 2019 13:26
    Edited time: 26 Jan, 2019 14:08
    Get short URL


    Venezuela's opposition leader Juan Guaido seen in Caracas, Venezuela on January 25, 2019. © Reuters / Carlos Barria

    Warnings from Germany, France and Spain to recognize the self-proclaimed president of Venezuela unless new elections are held came at the same time and were even similarly worded, Russia’s FM spokesperson noted.
    “The statements are not simply identical but they are even made simultaneously,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, wrote on Facebook.
    Earlier on Saturday, Paris, Berlin and Madrid announced their readiness to recognize the self-proclaimed “interim president” of Venezuela, Juan Guaido, unless the country holds snap presidential elections within eight days.

    The messages appeared to be well-coordinated indeed.
    “The government of Spain gives Nicolas Maduro eight days to call free, transparent and democratic elections,” Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in statement.

    “If that doesn't happen, Spain will recognize Juan Guaido as interim president in charge of calling these elections.”

    The ultimatum was almost instantly echoed by French President Emmanuel Macron, who took to Twitter issuing a similar threat in French and Spanish – to get the message through, apparently.

    “The Venezuelan people must be able to freely decide their future. Without elections announced in 8 days, we could recognize [Guaido] as ‘interim president’ of Venezuela to launch this political process,” Macron said, adding that he was working with “European partners.”
    Exactly the same message was posted on Twitter by the deputy spokeswoman of the German government.

    Guaido proclaimed himself “interim president” of Venezuela on Wednesday, swiftly receiving strong support from abroad. The US was the first to recognize the unelected “president,” and over a dozen countries – including almost all the South American states – have followed suit.

    Russia, China, Turkey, Cuba and other states, however, vowed support to the elected president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, condemning the externally-fueled coup attempt. Maduro, on his part, did not take Washington's actions lightly, and severed diplomatic ties with the US.

    Over the past few days, the country has seen massive anti-government protests, as well as counter-protests staged by supporters of the legitimate authorities.

    Venezuelan military and state officials have also vowed their support to the president. On Friday, Maduro announced massive military drills to be held in early February, which are supposed to warn any potential adversaries from staging open aggression against the country.

    On Saturday, Russia, China, South Africa, and Equatorial Guinea blocked the US push for a UN Security Council statement expressing support for the Guaido-led National Assembly as the “only democratically-elected institution,” of Venezuela. The move came ahead of the UNSC meeting, requested by the US, in which the Venezuelan crisis is set be discussed.


    Related:
    ‘Guido’? Pompeo mangles name of US-backed Venezuelan ‘president’

    =====================================================

    I guess the "It's Putin's missile!" type of campaign is bearing its load of propaganda rotten fruits... and by the time Maduro is demonstrated as the actual legitimate office holder, Venezuela will already be in the midst of a civil war... for skyrocketing corporate profits, no matter who gets to end as the top dog... sigh...
    "La réalité est un rêve que l'on fait atterrir" San Antonio AKA F. Dard

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    Default Re: Turmoil in Venezuela

    The "demonstrators":


    The Vultures of Caracas 43

    by Craig Murray
    26 Jan, 2019

    We are frequently told that people in Venezuela have no food, clothing or toilet paper, and that popular discontent with the left wing government is driven by real hunger. There are elements of truth in this story, though the causes of economic dislocation are far more complex than the media would have us believe.

    But I ask you to look at this photo of supporters of CIA poster-boy, the West’s puppet unelected “President” Juan Guaido, taken at a Guaido rally in Caracas two days ago and published yesterday in security services house journal The Guardian. Please take a really close look at the photo. Blow it up as big as you can. Scan individual people in the crowd, one by one.


    (click on picture for larger version)

    These are not the poor and most certainly not the starving. As it chances I have a great deal of life experience working amongst seriously deprived, hungry and despairing people. I know the gaunt face of want and the desperate glance of need.

    Look at these Guaido supporters, one by one by one. This designer spectacled, well-coiffed, elegantly dressed, sleekly jowled group does not know hunger. This group does not know want. This is a proper right wing gathering, a gathering of the nicely off section of society. This is a group of those who have corruptly been siphoning Venezuela’s great wealth for decades and who want to make sure the gravy train flows properly in their direction again. It is, in short, a group of exactly the kind of people you would expect to support a CIA coup.

    Those manicured hands raised in the air will never throw rocks, or get involved in violence unless against a peasant strapped to a chair for them. It is not this crowd which will suffer as public disorder is manipulated and directed by the CIA. These wealthy ones are immune, just as Davos serves as nothing but an annual reminder of how very poorly God aims avalanches.

    There is real suffering in Venezuela. The CIA is working hard to stoke violence, and the genuine poor will soon start to die, both in those egged on to riot and in the security services. But do not get taken in by the complete nonsense that this is a popular, democratic revolution. It is not. It is yet another barefaced CIA regime change coup.

    UPDATE Such wisdom as this blog finds is often crowd-source, and with thanks to a commenter below here is some useful information from Jill Stein.



    —————————————————

    Unlike our adversaries including the Integrity Initiative, the 77th Brigade, Bellingcat, the Atlantic Council and hundreds of other warmongering propaganda operations, this blog has no source of state, corporate or institutional finance whatsoever. It runs entirely on voluntary subscriptions from its readers...

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    "La réalité est un rêve que l'on fait atterrir" San Antonio AKA F. Dard

    Troll-hood motto: Never, ever, however, whatsoever, to anyone, a point concede.

  6. Link to Post #66
    Venezuela Avalon Member perolator's Avatar
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    Default Re: Turmoil in Venezuela

    Hi, Mr. Leahy,

    Quote Posted by Dennis Leahy (here)
    No, not "helps itself", you need the whole phrase: "helps itself to." It's in bold. And italics. It includes the word "to" that completely changes the meaning to "predatory."
    Okay, okay. I got the point. Thanks. No need to be so specific, it is blatantly obvious English is not my native language, quite possibly the reason I misunderstood or changed the context of your words by removing the preposition "to". I just learned the "predatory" meaning of your extremely detailed explanation. However, I stubbornly keep my point of view.

    Historically, the U.S. had a heavy involvement in the venezuelan oil industry. Just by chance, the 50's, 60's and 70's were the best years in my country, just by being an U.S. ally.. Predatory? I don't care.

    Quote By the end of 1918, petroleum appeared for the first time on the Venezuelan export statistics at 21,194 metric tons. After about twenty years from the installment of the first oil drill, Venezuela had become the largest oil exporter in the world and the second largest oil producer, after the United States. Exportation of oil boomed from 1.9% to 91.2% between 1920 and 1935.

    When oil was discovered at the Maracaibo strike in 1922, Venezuela’s dictator Juan Vicente Gómez allowed Americans to write Venezuela’s petroleum law.
    Source

    Even Juan Vicente Gómez was posessed, bewitched, or maybe crazy to allow USA, INC. to write Venezuela's petroleum law! Outrageous!

    Quote Posted by Dennis Leahy (here)
    Wow! That could be an interesting piece to the puzzle. By "divert", do you mean "give?" Give me some source material to read up about this. It simply makes no sense that Venezuela would be giving away valuable resources during its own crisis, so it should be interesting to find out if this is so.
    You got my point. Yes, by "divert", I mean "give"... but that word is altruistic and cute... although "concede" as in masochistic submission is a better way to name it. Unfortunately, there are few reliable sources in English. However, here is a good article and here is an excellent article by Haley Zaremba (referenced above in another post).

    Mr. Leahy, Let me rephrase: The bulk of sanctions are affecting immediately the most to individuals of the chavista regime.

    Quote Posted by Dennis Leahy (here)
    No, that's not how sanctions work. All the inhabitants of the country are affected by sanctions. It does (deliberately) put the highest pressure first onto the most vulnerable sector: the poor. But, the bigger picture is, why would an altruistic country place any form of economic sanctions on another country, that is, target the poor, and especially when the other country was already in economic trouble? Go back and listen again to John Perkins explain this tactic. It is warfare. Economic warfare. Try to get the poor people to revolt and overthrow the guy that "American interests" wants overthrown.
    Mr. Leahy, have you ever spent a year at least, living in a country affected by U.S. sanctions (not under an NGO umbrella)? I am almost sure you never spent a single second in Venezuelan soil. Your "expert" John Perkins supported opinion is worth nothing to me. Theory is glowing and beautiful outside a country like Venezuela. There, you have to be muy arrecho to withstand a single day without suffering. It is the corrupt and sadistic venezuelan regime responsible, not the U.S., sanctions are the socialist source of all evil.

    Quote This isn't rocket surgery. What is happening in Venezuela is a 100% textbook globalist overthrow of Venezuela, by exactly the methods exposed by John Perkins.
    Do you mean "rocket science"? I don't know what rocket surgery is. Sorry I cannot comprehend what you meant. I will have to watch John Perkins videos.

    Quote Again, it would be very interesting to see details on this allegation, but I'd guess it is at least partially true - there are always grifters and embezzlers and bribe-takers in any large organization/government, but how much corruption is honestly the direct actions of or the direct fault of Maduro, I have no real idea. (You don't either.) He may not be the right person for the job simply because he is not savvy enough to deal with a powerful, predatory nation, like the USA. He certainly didn't prepare for the contingency of oil prices dropping drastically in the world market (engineered, or not) and had far too much dependence on oil revenue, and what the USA so easily has done to them already.
    Thanks for insulting me that way. Now I know I am not savvy enough to know (pun intended). How do you know, for God sake, for sure, I don't know whether the Maduro's regime, Maduro himself (and the whole Bolivarian chavista enchilada) is not accountable for what is happening since Fidel Castro was interested in my country?

    No soup for you. If you want to know more, be my guest. (hint: details are not available in Russia Today).

    Quote (Once Venezuelan oil is fully secured by the globalists, look for world prices on oil to double or triple. -my prediction)
    Wrong. Please do some research. History tends to repeat itself.

    Quote I'm not trying to tell you (or Venezuela) how to run Venezuela; I'm warning you not to acquiesce to USA, INC. globalist interests telling Venezuelans how to run Venezuela, and telling Venezuelans who will preside over the government of Venezuela. (They are already dictating to Venezuelans who Venezuelans can and cannot trade with.)
    I respect your opinion. Thanks.

    Quote Part of the mandate of the globalists that own and control the USA is to stomp out socialism. Shall I name a few examples in Central America? So, it's not JUST about the oil. This is a "two-fer", a slam-dunk cause for the neocon and neoliberal mobsters in the US government to support: stomp out Socialism in Venezuela, AND take control of Venezuelan oil - at the very least by taking a "cut", a percentage off the top, and controlling the release onto the world market of Venezuelan oil.
    Okay.

    Quote I think it's to force the trade of that big blob of oil to be in US dollars - petrodollars, really, but now just called US dollars. It's not protecting the currency it is protecting the skim off the top flow of currency. The "take." Ya gotta see the USA, INC. gang as mobsters, or you'll misunderestimate the malevolence, and become a willing victim.
    Quote misunderestimate
    I'm lost. underestimate? misunderstand?

    Petrodollars? I hate that. I call it Petrogiveaway.

    Let me quote a 2011 article (written by a Chavez's supporter at the time, a graceful way to shoot oneself in the foot):

    Quote The increase in oil prices gives Venezuela more financial resources as well as the ability to share oil with allies in Central America and the Caribbean. Assuming that oil production remains at 2.4 mbd, Venezuela’s gross oil exports could reach $71.4 billion in 2011 and $81.4 billion in 2012, estimating an average Brent benchmark price of $91 per barrel in 2011 and $105 per barrel in 2012. But the oil that PDVSA sells under preferred conditions must be discounted to determine its true oil export income.

    The first of the beneficiaries is Cuba. Under bilateral mutual cooperation agreements, PDVSA, as a partner of the Cuban company Cupet, can operate and process Venezuelan crude oil in Cuba’s Cienfuegos refinery. As a result, PDVSA sends to Cuba 120,000 bpd for an estimated value of $3.2 billion in 2011 and $3.6 billion in 2012. In return, Cuba compensates Venezuela with medical services, sports training, intelligence services, and technical support.

    Another set of beneficiaries comprises select countries in Central America and the Caribbean, where PDVSA is financing 50 percent of the value of the exports under preferential conditions. These favorable loans are for 17 to 25 years at a 1 percent interest rate with a one- to two-year grace period. For Venezuela, this will amount to cash losses of $6.2 billion in 2011 and $6.6 billion in 2012, but it also means that the Chávez government is the principal donor and/or financier of the region. The Dominican Republic and Nicaragua, the principal beneficiaries of this pact, each receive 30,000 bpd. In the case of the Dominican Republic, the government receives and refines the oil and then resells its derivatives at market prices. In this operation, the Dominican government will obtain $450 million in 2011 and $500 million in 2012 as favorable loans. The subsidy to Nicaragua is for a similar amount.
    Source

    Quote Posted by Dennis Leahy (here)
    Well, my example of the people of Yemen was to show a modern, even current, example of the USA, INC. sociopathy whitewashed as "compassion", versus actual compassion.
    I stated above I do not want to comment about any other country and/or situation different than Venezuela's.

    Quote Venezuela is 51% Mestizo. Do you care about those Venezuelans, who are more than half your country? What if the majority of Venezuelans want some form of Socialism, and believe that Venezuelan oil is owned by all Venezuelans? Are you against Socialism and Maduro, or just Maduro? Would it be better for Venezuela to heavily tax the oil, leasing the drilling to private oil companies, like Norway does? [snip]
    No comment. I do not want to answer about this. Let's see what happens. History is being written in real time there. I just want a world stripped of people like chavistas and their supporters abroad.

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    Default Re: Turmoil in Venezuela

    Some of the poorest fled the socialist regime. Here is a video of a city in Colombia (Cali) where some of them made a shelter:

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    Default Re: Turmoil in Venezuela

    Herve, I think at this point, it's better to see what's on the ground, rather than quote all these keyboard warrior journalists posting their opinion. Let's be clear, this isn't about Capitalist vs Communist ideological dominance over a "sovereign nation" any longer, but rather the simple incompetence of the moron Maduro.
    Compare him to Chavez (whatever his politics or ideology). It's Maduro vs Chavez. It's obvious that Maduro, whether legitimately elected or not UNFIT to govern - just like the same MSM links you put up all say Trump is UNFIT (would you think so?).

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    Default Re: Turmoil in Venezuela

    Right, Maduro is so unfit to run the country that most, if not all, the bankers' minions are howling in chorus to depose and replace him with any unknown quantity...



    Now, why would bankers' minions and puppets do that if Maduro was not being a thorn in these bankers' butts?
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    Default Re: Turmoil in Venezuela

    Hi Hervé,

    Please elaborate.

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    Default Re: Turmoil in Venezuela

    Quote Posted by Hervé (here)
    The "demonstrators":
    We are frequently told that people in Venezuela have no food, clothing or toilet paper, and that popular discontent with the left wing government is driven by real hunger. There are elements of truth in this story, though the causes of economic dislocation are far more complex than the media would have us believe.

    But I ask you to look at this photo of supporters of CIA poster-boy, the West’s puppet unelected “President” Juan Guaido, taken at a Guaido rally in Caracas two days ago and published yesterday in security services house journal The Guardian. Please take a really close look at the photo. Blow it up as big as you can. Scan individual people in the crowd, one by one.

    Look at these Guaido supporters, one by one by one. This designer spectacled, well-coiffed, elegantly dressed, sleekly jowled group does not know hunger. This group does not know want. This is a proper right wing gathering, a gathering of the nicely off section of society. This is a group of those who have corruptly been siphoning Venezuela’s great wealth for decades and who want to make sure the gravy train flows properly in their direction again. It is, in short, a group of exactly the kind of people you would expect to support a CIA coup.

    Those manicured hands raised in the air will never throw rocks, or get involved in violence unless against a peasant strapped to a chair for them. It is not this crowd which will suffer as public disorder is manipulated and directed by the CIA. These wealthy ones are immune, just as Davos serves as nothing but an annual reminder of how very poorly God aims avalanches.

    There is real suffering in Venezuela. The CIA is working hard to stoke violence, and the genuine poor will soon start to die, both in those egged on to riot and in the security services. But do not get taken in by the complete nonsense that this is a popular, democratic revolution. It is not. It is yet another barefaced CIA regime change coup.
    What a big truckload of crap!!!

    Incredible!

    Thank you Hervé, for bringing this crappy "article" here!

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    Default Re: Turmoil in Venezuela

    It just emphasizes that the bankers' designated usurper is not supported by the starving individuals dreaming of a better future... the support crowd is only composed of well fed people who are enjoying a better life, NOW!
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    Default Re: Turmoil in Venezuela

    Quote Posted by Joe (here)
    I appreciate the posts and discussion from everyone - all perspectives are intelligent, well written and supported.

    There is a very large Latino population in the US, they to a large degree buy into the globalist ideology. Given the level of relative freedom and availability of jobs compared to their home countries, this is understandable. But this still supports the globalist hegemony and is a system of slavery that will continue to get worse generation after generation.
    At this point, any option different to what is happening now in Venezuela, is better. I understand your point. Let me clarify. All I want for Venezuela is freedom. Freedom of speech, i.e. a country where the government does not control what people say or do for political reasons and where people can express their opinions without any punishment whatsoever. Quality of living. Things people have for granted in other countries, like the ability to exchange currency. I am not in Venezuela. Therefore, I cannot access via the Internet my own bank accounts there; if I do, access to the accounts may be closed. You have to live there to understand what I mean.

    Quote When faced with starvation, people need to do what they need to do to survive. Maybe that means overthrowing an incompetent leader and installing a “predatory” system, I don’t know. But when the starvation is gone, do consider choosing neither a “chavista” system nor “a predatory” system.
    I did not choose a chavista system. Never supported the chavista government in any way. I do not want anyone in this planet being ruled for such a system. Not even the worst human beings. I want chavistas themselves being isolated from the rest of humanity ruled under that system forever as punishment. The same applies for all their supporters abroad.

    I did not have the slightest idea how the propaganda machine worked. Now I know. The chavista system is not socialism. Norway and Finland are not socialist countries.

    Quote Posted by Joe (here)
    Please do read Confessions of an Economic Hitman, by John Perkins. Dennis is exactly right, this is a textbook overthrow and is economic war. That’s not an exaggeration. It should be required reading for everyone wanting to understand the political situation in Venezuela, and the book is available here in the Avalon library. http://avalonlibrary.net/ebooks/John...0Hit%20Man.pdf
    I will read it. Promise. But, commenting it here may be off-topic.

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    Default Re: Turmoil in Venezuela

    Quote Posted by perolator (here)
    At this point, any option different to what is happening now in Venezuela, is better.
    Be careful what you wish for. The USA has just appointed "the savior you've been waiting for", Elliot Abrams.


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    Default Re: Turmoil in Venezuela

    Quote Posted by Dennis Leahy (here)
    Be careful what you wish for. The USA has just appointed "the savior you've been waiting for", Elliot Abrams.
    Elliot Abrams. The Bogeyman has a name.

    Yes, Mr. Leahy, maybe is the savior most of venezuelans have been waiting for a long time. It is not just me, Mr. Leahy. People who doesn't want the Bolivarian enchilada is counted by the millions. That's true. You have seen the demonstrations. Not the chavista-doctored ones, with goverment employees and paid people.

    What, me worry?

    Mr. Dennis Leahy, Venezuela is one of the most violent and insecure countries in the world. Do you think I am proud of it?

    Let me quote Wikipedia. I seldom do it, but this time is appropriate:

    Quote Rates of crime increased rapidly during the presidency of Hugo Chávez due to the institutional instability of his Bolivarian government, underfunding of police resources and high inequality.[6] Chávez's government sought a cultural hegemony, promoting class conflict and social fragmentation in order to establish a hegemony, which in turn encouraged "criminal gangs to kill, kidnap, rob and extort".[7] By the time Chávez died in 2013, Venezuela was ranked the most insecure nation in the world by Gallup.
    Source

    Thank God that Chávez son of a filthy bitch died. Well, I would wanted a life sentence for him.
    From the same Wikipedia entry:

    Quote Crime has also continued to increase under Chávez's successor, President Nicolás Maduro, who continued Chávez's policies that had disrupted Venezuela's socioeconomic status.[8][9][10][11] By 2015, crime, which was often the topic Venezuelans worried about the most according to polls, was the second largest concern compared to shortages in Venezuela.[12] Crimes related to shortages and hunger increased shortly after, with growing incidents of looting occurring throughout the country.[4][13] Most crime in Venezuela remains unpunished according to Venezuela's Prosecutor General’s Office, with 98% of crimes in Venezuela not resulting in prosecution.
    98% unpunished crime, Mr. Leahy.

    Think about it.

    I want to tell all cardboard socialists all over the world: want some socialism? Go get it! It is there, in Venezuela!

    What difference it makes people die (even members of my family, God forbid) trying to regain freedom than it makes just to be living there under the chavista regime?

    Quote The United States invades Panama in an attempt to overthrow military dictator Manuel Noriega, who had been indicted in the United States on drug trafficking charges and was accused of suppressing democracy in Panama and endangering U.S. nationals. Noriega’s Panamanian Defense Forces (PDF) were promptly crushed, forcing the dictator to seek asylum with the Vatican anuncio in Panama City, where he surrendered on January 3, 1990.
    Source

    Noriega is a schoolboy compared with El cartel de los soles, the powerful illegal drug trafficking business in Venezuela.

    Maduro = Noriega
    PDF (Panamanian Defense Forces) = Colectivos, SEBIN, Militias, FARC, ELN, FBL, Cubans and Military Forces.

    The same panorama. History repeats itself.

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    Default Re: Turmoil in Venezuela

    Quote Posted by Hervé (here)
    The "demonstrators":


    The Vultures of Caracas 43

    by Craig Murray
    26 Jan, 2019

    We are frequently told that people in Venezuela have no food, clothing or toilet paper, and that popular discontent with the left wing government is driven by real hunger. There are elements of truth in this story, though the causes of economic dislocation are far more complex than the media would have us believe.

    But I ask you to look at this photo of supporters of CIA poster-boy, the West’s puppet unelected “President” Juan Guaido, taken at a Guaido rally in Caracas two days ago and published yesterday in security services house journal The Guardian. Please take a really close look at the photo. Blow it up as big as you can. Scan individual people in the crowd, one by one.


    This is unbelievably stupid!

    It's the centre of the capital city so obviously you're not going to see big numbers of poor people there.

    Come on now. They can't afford to live in the city centre or even travel in...

    Talk about desperate to prove a point regardless of any common sense.

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    Default Re: Turmoil in Venezuela

    US blockade prevents 18 million boxes of food reaching Venezuela but commentators still blame Bolivarianism

    Paul Antonopoulos Fort Russ News
    Mon, 04 Sep 2017 14:23 UTC



    The Vice President of Venezuela's National Constitutional Assembly, Aristobulo Isturiz, revealed that the US imposed economic blockade on Venezuela has prevented 18 million boxes of food from reaching the country that is suffering from food shortages.

    He then went onto highlight that the sanctions affect ordinary Venezuelan people and not the country's leadership, just as US-imposed sanctions on Syria are having the same effect.

    Isturiz then revealed that allied countries had to make payment for the food to be reached as the US sanctions prevents Venezuela from making such purchases.

    TeleSUR explained that while Venezuela does have a food crisis that has resulted in mass food shortages, the blame is often pinned on the country's socialist government and that government officials accuse right-wing opposition forces and their allies in the private sector and in international finance of intentionally sabotaging the economy.

    The same report continued to explain that last year, over 750 opposition-controlled offshore companies linked to the Panama Papers scandal were accused of purposely redirecting Venezuelan imports of raw food materials from the government to the private sector. Many of these companies sell their products to private companies in Colombia, which resell them to Venezuelans living close to Colombia.
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    Default Re: Turmoil in Venezuela

    Quote Posted by Dennis Leahy (here)
    Quote Posted by perolator (here)
    At this point, any option different to what is happening now in Venezuela, is better.
    Be careful what you wish for. The USA has just appointed "the savior you've been waiting for", Elliot Abrams.
    Jesus, Dennis. That is a hell of a find and correlation.
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    Default Re: Turmoil in Venezuela

    Compare French and Venezuelan protests - spot the difference

    RT
    Neil Clark
    Thu, 24 Jan 2019 16:49 UTC


    Demonstrators clash with security forces in a rally against Venezuelan President Maduro. © Reuters/Carlos Eduardo Ramirez

    The 'Yellow Vest' anti-government protests in France have received limited coverage in Western media and what coverage there has been has been quite hostile to the protestors.

    In Venezuela though it's a very different story. Here the street demonstrations are a major news event, despite the country being thousands of miles away. Furthermore, the coverage is very sympathetic to the protestors and extremely hostile to the government.

    Quote
    Neil Clark @NeilClark66

    France is just across the water. But you watch,there’ll be much more coverage in mainstream news outlets of the anti-govt protests in #Venezuela than there was of the #GiletsJaunes protests vs the ‘centrist’ Macron.The coverage will be a lot more sympathetic to the protestors too

    12:14 AM - Jan 24, 2019
    Why are angry street protestors in France bad, but in Venezuela very good?

    The answer has to do with the stances and international alliances of the respective governments. It's inaccurate to call President Emmanuel Macron of France the President of the rich. He is, as his predecessor Francois Hollande admitted on French television, the President of the very rich.

    Macron is an unashamed globalist, committed to carrying out neoliberal reforms at home, and following a 'liberal interventionist' ie imperialist foreign policy abroad, which means keeping French forces -illegally- in Syria. No wonder the elites are mad about the boy. The toppling of Macron, in a French Revolution 2.0, would be a huge blow to the most powerful people in the world. It cannot be allowed to happen.

    Quote
    Richard Wellings @RichardWellings

    French police in Toulouse shove an unarmed female protester onto the ground then grab her using her hair: pic.twitter.com/IqT5LneGRd The hypocritical EU is still silent on the Macron government's widespread human rights abuses. #GiletsJaunes

    434

    4:05 PM - Jan 20, 2019
    The French authorities have responded to the street protests with force; one activist was even sentenced to prison for six months - but this has largely been ignored by Western 'liberals' who would be so quick to denounce similar actions in other countries, whose government they don't approve of. Instead, the message is 'law and order must be maintained'.

    The Yellow Vests protestors have been relentlessly traduced. We were told they were 'far-right' and 'racists' and even 'anti-semites'. The conspiracy theory that they were part of a sinister Russian plot to sow division in Europe was also promulgated, by those who routinely attack others for being conspiracy theorists.

    By contrast, the anti-government protestors in Venezuela can do no wrong, even when they commit terrible acts of violence. Those who falsely accuse their Gilets Jaunes of being motivated by 'racism' were silent when a black man, the 21-year-old Orlando Jose Figuera was burnt alive by anti-government protestors in Caracas in 2017.

    Imagine the outcry if the Yellow Vests had set fire to a black man in Paris. But it's anti-Chavistas doing it in Venezuela, so let's close our eyes and pretend it didn't happen.

    While there is absolutely no evidence of any foreign involvement in the Yellow Vest protests, the US and its allies have been openly backing the anti-government protests in Venezuela.

    Trump has even recognised Venezuela's opposition leader, Juan Guaido, as the leader of the country. Again, imagine the headlines if Vladimir Putin recognised Marine Le Pen or Jean-Luc Melenchon as the leader of France - or said, as Trump has said about Venezuela, that Russia could invade France if the government didn't stand down!

    The US move has already been endorsed by EU bigwigs, like Guy Verhofstadt, reminding us that for all their criticism of Trump, these virtue-signaling politically-correct European 'liberals' are on the same page as the US when it comes to imperialistic regime-change operations. It's not just Venezuela, it was the same in Yugoslavia in 2000 and Ukraine in 2014.

    It's a crowded field, but the prize for the biggest hypocrite of all goes to Emmanuel Macron.

    The man who has been clamping down on legitimate street protests at home, and whose approval rating slumped to just 21% earlier this month, published a tweet in which he praised ' the courage of the hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans who are marching for their liberty".

    For the Yellow Vests protestors, and indeed for anyone else who genuinely supports liberty, that really is one sick joke.
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    Default Re: Turmoil in Venezuela

    If there's one thing I can't stand, it's a hypocrite. Pretending to be one thing while really being another. We're watching. We see what they are.
    "The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what we share with someone when we are uncool." From the movie "Almost Famous""l "Let yourself stand cool and composed before a million universes." Walt Whitman

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