The situation in Venezuela

Karlysymon

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Of course it's not just about oil. It's a proxy struggle between Russia and the US.
I agree. Syria 2.0

If the reports of Russian mercenaries in Venezuela to protect Maduro are to be believed, it lends weight to his claim that there might be a civil war. Just like Russia protected Assad, he’ll likely survive. Thing is, the US has changed the way it wages war….armies for hire….that are trained and ‘backed’ to do the destabilization (think ISIS or FSA), with a handful of troops deployed to support the rebels. If this is what has been planned, reports of these militias will eventually trickle out. In the end, everyone loses whether s/he support Guaido or Maduro, when the country disintergrates.

No one, except the architects of the war, could have anticipated heroin from Afghan poppy fields flooding the world. This Venezuela situation seems so sudden, we don’t really know what the future promises or what it might trigger. Just my two cents….
 

DavidSon

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http://www.unz.com/tsaker/saker-interview-with-michael-hudson-on-venezuela/

Thoughtful analysis of the financial crisis, global impact, and possible solutions for Venezuela moving forward.

The Saker: What can other Latin American countries such as Bolivia, Nicaragua, Cuba and, maybe, Uruguay and Mexico do to help Venezuela?

Michael Hudson: The best thing neighboring Latin American countries can do is to join in creating a vehicle to promote de-dollarization and, with it, an international institution to oversee the writedown of debts that are beyond the ability of countries to pay without imposing austerity and thereby destroying their economies.

An alternative also is needed to the World Bank that would make loans in domestic currency, above all to subsidize investment in domestic food production so as to protect the economy against foreign food-sanctions – the equivalent of a military siege to force surrender by imposing famine conditions. This World Bank for Economic Acceleration would put the development of self-reliance for its members first, instead of promoting export competition while loading borrowers down with foreign debt that would make them prone to the kind of financial blackmail that Venezuela is experiencing.

Being a Roman Catholic country, Venezuela might ask for papal support for a debt write-down and an international institution to oversee the ability to pay by debtor countries without imposing austerity, emigration, depopulation and forced privatization of the public domain.

Two international principles are needed. First, no country should be obliged to pay foreign debt in a currency (such as the dollar or its satellites) whose banking system acts to prevents payment.

Second, no country should be obliged to pay foreign debt at the price of losing its domestic autonomy as a state: the right to determine its own foreign policy, to tax and to create its own money, and to be free of having to privatize its public assets to pay foreign creditors. Any such debt is a “bad loan” reflecting the creditor’s own irresponsibility or, even worse, pernicious asset grab in a foreclosure that was the whole point of the loan.
 

Etagloc

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I agree. Syria 2.0

If the reports of Russian mercenaries in Venezuela to protect Maduro are to be believed, it lends weight to his claim that there might be a civil war. Just like Russia protected Assad, he’ll likely survive. Thing is, the US has changed the way it wages war….armies for hire….that are trained and ‘backed’ to do the destabilization (think ISIS or FSA), with a handful of troops deployed to support the rebels. If this is what has been planned, reports of these militias will eventually trickle out. In the end, everyone loses whether s/he support Guaido or Maduro, when the country disintergrates.

No one, except the architects of the war, could have anticipated heroin from Afghan poppy fields flooding the world. This Venezuela situation seems so sudden, we don’t really know what the future promises or what it might trigger. Just my two cents….
Not everyone loses. One side has to lose. Whatever happens, I want Maduro and Russia to lose.
 
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UnderAlienControl

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Karlysymon

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Karlysymon

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From the article:


"No one actually thinks the same Donald Trump who kicked off his run for the White House by calling Mexicans rapists, and subsequently, as president, left Puerto Rico for dead after Hurricane Maria, cares at all about the Venezuelan poor. No one actually thinks the murderers row of Cold Warriors—led by two of the most extreme right-wingers in American politics, Venezuela envoy Elliott Abrams and national security adviser John Bolton—cares at all about the starving people in Venezuela or their plight. No one reading this, be they right, left, center, libertarian or communist, actually buys the prevailing narrative that the U.S. is sending “aid” to Venezuela as a humanitarian gesture.

So why is everyone pretending otherwise?

There are a number of reasons why these superficial narratives take hold, but I’d like to speculate on two of them.

First, the crisis in Venezuela is very real and very daunting. Without litigating who’s responsible for what, whether U.S.-led sanctions and economic sabotage are more to blame or the economic policies of Nicolás Maduro, one simple fact is true: The status quo is untenable. Perhaps, then, the instinct to “do something” is understandable. But as with previous crises, both organic and contrived, what that “something” is remains unclear. Liberals—as they did in the build-up to the invasions of Iraq and Libya—are easily pressured into this “do something” posture.

The way these things work, however, is that this vague moral directive often involves a combination of CIA and U.S. military intervention. During the Syrian conflict, for example, it meant U.S.- and NATO-led bombings of Syrian forces and a tacit declaration of war under the guise of “no-fly zones.” What’s never considered is a reduction or cessation of U.S. involvement, be it CIA weapons running, wide-scale bombing campaigns, or the imposition of sanctions—all of which prolong a given conflict or simply make it more violent..."

This perfectly explains why on sites like this, we still have interventionist voices, simple really, because TPTB tug at your heartstrings so that you acquiesce. Isn't ironic that the US is partly responsible for Venezuela's economic woes, but now plans to intervene to arrest (if that is even what's going to happen) what it set in motion? Imagine the ridiculousness of it all when Maduro is deposed, Guaido holds the reins and then Venezuela sinks even lower than it already is. Should we demand an accounting of the interventionists?

Sometimes, the devil is in the detail. Of all people, Rubio decided to use Gadaffi as an example? He could have used Ben Ali (Tunisia: exiled in KSA) or Hosni Mubarak (Egypt), so maybe this is telling us what's up ahead.
 

DavidSon

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I sent this video to my sister. Glad a few voices within the mainstream media can still report without bias.

For the most part the war on the Venezuelans is being cheered on by basically state sponsored news agencies. Propaganda has been an important, consistent element while destabilizing their nation the last year. Rubio is one of the most loathsome people in the world. He and the entire US cast are clowns. They've failed everywhere else and I hope this is another defeat.

Thanks to VC for linking me to TLAV- he is an excellent journalist.

 
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